Electronic device in non-terrestrial network, and method

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an electronic device in a non-terrestrial network, and a method. Described is an electronic device used for a first base station in a non-terrestrial network, and the non-terrestrial network further comprises a user equipment, a second base station, a network function and a satellite, which can communicate with the first base station. The electronic device comprises a processing circuit, which is configured to enable a first base station to execute the following operations: on the basis of a message received from a network function, determining to initiate a first handover of a user equipment to a second base station at a first time; sending a handover request message to the second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base-station-initiated type; and in response to having received a message indicating that the second base station accepts a handover request, sending a handover command to the user equipment, wherein the handover command instructs the user equipment to execute the first handover, and indicates that the handover type of the first handover is the base-station-initiated type.

Description

Electronic devices and methods in non-terrestrial networks Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to devices and methods in a non-terrestrial network (NTN), and particularly to techniques for cell handover in a non-terrestrial network. Background Art

[0002] Wireless communication systems can use a variety of protocols and standards for data transmission between devices. These protocols and standards have undergone long-term development, including but not limited to the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) (for example, 4G communication), and 3GPP New Radio (NR) (for example, 5G communication) and even 6G communication. Compared with traditional wireless communication systems, new wireless communication systems (such as 5G NR communication systems and 6G communication systems) have significantly improved wireless transmission speed, latency, capacity, flexibility, and reliability, providing more possibilities for new usage models.

[0003] New wireless communication systems introduce non-terrestrial networks involving high-altitude communication stations such as satellites to complement the performance of terrestrial networks. For example, mobile operators can use non-terrestrial networks to provide wireless communication services to areas lacking infrastructure. They can also provide wireless communication services to users even when terrestrial networks are disrupted (such as in battlefields, earthquakes, floods, and outdoor situations).

[0004] In non-terrestrial networks, frequent cell switching may be required. For example, low-orbit (LEO) satellites typically operate at altitudes between 200 and 2,000 kilometers above the ground. When a LEO satellite is close to the ground, such as at an altitude of 600 or 1,200 kilometers, the diameter of the satellite beam projected on the ground may be relatively small. For example, when the satellite altitude is 600 kilometers and the band is 20 GHz, the beam's projected coverage diameter on the ground is approximately 50 kilometers, with the maximum beam coverage diameter being approximately 1,000 kilometers. Furthermore, because LEO satellites move at high speed relative to the ground, the projection of their transmitted beams also moves at high speeds on the ground, ranging from 6.5 to 8.1 kilometers per second. Consider a user device on a high-speed aircraft traveling at 1000 km / h. If the aircraft and satellite are traveling in the same direction, the coverage time for beam diameters of 50 km and 1000 km is 6.51 seconds and 130 seconds, respectively. If the aircraft and satellite are traveling in opposite directions, the coverage time for the user device is 6 seconds and 120 seconds, respectively. This means that the user device needs to switch cells at a minimum of approximately every 6 seconds and a maximum of approximately every 130 seconds. Therefore, it is desirable to find devices and methods that can improve cell switching in non-terrestrial networks.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present disclosure proposes devices and methods in non-terrestrial networks.

[0007] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device for a first base station in a non-terrestrial network is provided. The non-terrestrial network further includes a user device capable of communicating with the first base station, a second base station, a network function, and a satellite. The electronic device includes a processing circuit configured to cause the first base station to perform the following operations: determine, based on a message received from the network function, to initiate a first handover of the user device to the second base station at a first time; send a handover request message to the second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that the handover type of the first handover is base station-initiated; and in response to receiving a message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request, send a handover command to the user device, wherein the handover command instructs the user device to perform the first handover and indicates that the handover type of the first handover is base station-initiated.

[0008] Correspondingly, according to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a method for a first base station in a non-terrestrial network is provided. The non-terrestrial network further includes a user device capable of communicating with the first base station, a second base station, a network function, and a satellite. The method comprises: determining, based on a message received from the network function, to initiate a first handover of the user device to the second base station at a first time; sending a handover request message to the second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that the handover type of the first handover is base station-initiated; and in response to receiving a message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request, sending a handover command to the user device, wherein the handover command instructs the user device to perform the first handover and indicates that the handover type of the first handover is base station-initiated.

[0009] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device for a user device in a non-terrestrial network is provided. The non-terrestrial network further includes a first base station capable of communicating with the user device, a second base station capable of communicating with the first base station, a network function, and a satellite. The electronic device includes a processing circuit configured to cause the user device to perform the following operations: receive a handover command from the first base station, wherein the handover command instructs the user device to perform a first handover to the second base station, and indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station-initiated handover; perform signal quality measurement with the first base station and signal quality measurement with the second base station within a predetermined time period; and perform the first handover in response to determining that the signal quality between the user device and the first base station and the signal quality between the user device and the second base station within the predetermined time period meet a predefined condition.

[0010] Correspondingly, according to the second aspect of the present disclosure, a method for a user equipment in a non-terrestrial network is also provided. The non-terrestrial network also includes a first base station capable of communicating with the user equipment, a second base station capable of communicating with the first base station, a network function, and a satellite. The method includes: receiving a handover command from the first base station, wherein the handover command instructs the user equipment to perform a first handover to the second base station, and indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station-initiated type; performing signal quality measurement between the user equipment and the first base station and signal quality measurement between the user equipment and the second base station within a predetermined time period; in response to determining that the signal quality between the user equipment and the first base station and the signal quality between the user equipment and the second base station within the predetermined time period meet predefined conditions, performing the first handover.

[0011] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device for a network function in a non-terrestrial network is provided. The non-terrestrial network further includes a user device capable of communicating with the network function, a first base station, a second base station, and a satellite. The electronic device includes a processing circuit configured to cause the network function to perform the following operations: sending a message to the first base station, wherein the message includes an indication of initiating a first handover of the user device to the second base station at a first time, wherein the first base station sends a handover request message to the second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station-initiated type, and wherein in response to receiving a message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request, the first base station sends a handover command to the user device, wherein the handover command instructs the user device to perform the first handover and indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station-initiated type.

[0012] Correspondingly, according to the third aspect of the present disclosure, a method for a network function in a non-terrestrial network is also provided. The non-terrestrial network also includes a user equipment capable of communicating with the network function, a first base station, a second base station, and a satellite. The method includes: sending a message to the first base station, wherein the message includes an indication of initiating a first handover of the user equipment to the second base station at a first time, wherein the first base station sends a handover request message to the second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station-initiated type, and wherein in response to receiving a message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request, the first base station sends a handover command to the user equipment, wherein the handover command instructs the user equipment to perform the first handover and indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station-initiated type.

[0013] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device for a second base station in a non-terrestrial network is provided. The non-terrestrial network further includes a user device capable of communicating with the second base station, a first base station, a network function, and a satellite. The electronic device includes a processing circuit configured to cause the second base station to perform the following operations: receive a handover request message from the first base station for a first handover of the user device to the second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that the handover type of the first handover is base station-initiated and the first handover is determined by the first base station to be initiated at a first time based on a message received from the network function; and in response to determining that resources meet requirements for the first handover, send a message to the first base station indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request.

[0014] Correspondingly, according to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a method for a second base station in a non-terrestrial network is also provided. The non-terrestrial network also includes a user equipment capable of communicating with the second base station, a first base station, a network function, and a satellite. The method includes: receiving a handover request message from the first base station for a first handover of the user equipment to the second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that the handover type of the first handover is base station-initiated and the first handover is determined by the first base station to be initiated at the first time based on a message received from the network function; and in response to determining that the resources meet the requirements of the first handover, sending a message to the first base station indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request.

[0015] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium having one or more instructions stored thereon is provided, and when the one or more instructions are executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, the electronic device performs the methods according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0016] According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product comprising program instructions is provided, which, when executed by one or more processors of a computer, causes the computer to perform the methods according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0017] The above summary is provided to summarize some exemplary embodiments in order to provide a basic understanding of various aspects of the subject matter described herein. Therefore, the above features are merely examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the detailed description described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] A better understanding of the present disclosure may be obtained when the following detailed description of the embodiments is considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The same or similar reference numerals are used in the various drawings to represent the same or similar components. The accompanying drawings, together with the following detailed description, are incorporated into and form a part of this specification and are used to illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure and to explain the principles and advantages of the present disclosure. In particular:

[0019] FIG1 shows an example scenario diagram of cell handover in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG2 shows an example scenario diagram of cell handover in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG3 illustrates exemplary electronic devices for a first base station according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG4 illustrates a flow chart of an example handover method for a first base station in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG5 illustrates exemplary electronic devices for a base station according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0024] FIG6 illustrates a flow chart of an example registration method for a base station in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0025] FIG7 illustrates an exemplary electronic device for a user device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0026] FIG8 illustrates a flow chart of an example handover method for a user equipment in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0027] FIG9 illustrates an exemplary electronic device for a user device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0028] FIG10 illustrates a flow chart of an example registration method for a user equipment in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0029] FIG11 illustrates an exemplary electronic device for network functions according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0030] FIG12 illustrates a flow chart of an example registration method for a network function in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0031] FIG13 illustrates an exemplary electronic device for a second base station according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0032] 14 illustrates a flow chart of an example handover method for a second base station in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0033] FIG15 shows an information interaction diagram for a cell handover process in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0034] FIG16 shows an information interaction diagram for a cell handover process in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0035] FIG17 shows an information interaction diagram of a handover data collection process in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0036] FIG18 shows an information interaction diagram of a handover model parameter acquisition process in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0037] FIG19 shows an information interaction diagram of a handover model parameter testing process in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0038] FIG20 shows an information interaction diagram for a cell handover process in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0039] FIG21 shows an information interaction diagram of a user equipment registration process in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0040] FIG22 shows a schematic diagram of a cell handover process in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0041] FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing an example structure of a personal computer as an information processing apparatus employable in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0042] FIG. 24 is a block diagram illustrating a first example of a schematic configuration of a base station to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied.

[0043] FIG. 25 is a block diagram illustrating a second example of a schematic configuration of a base station to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied.

[0044] FIG. 26 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a smartphone to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied.

[0045] FIG. 27 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a car navigation device to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied.

[0046] While the embodiments described in this disclosure may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. However, it should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereof are not intended to limit the embodiments to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intent is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] The following describes representative applications of various aspects of the apparatus and method of the present disclosure. The description of these examples is only to add context and help understand the described embodiments. Therefore, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the embodiments described below can be implemented without some or all of the specific details. In other cases, well-known process steps are not described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the described embodiments. Other applications are also possible, and the solutions of the present disclosure are not limited to these examples.

[0048] Typically, a wireless communication system includes at least a network device and a user device. The network device can provide communication services for one or more user devices.

[0049] In this disclosure, the term "network device" (or "base station") has the full breadth of its usual meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is part of a wireless communication system or radio system to facilitate communication. As an example, the network device can be, for example, an eNB of the 4G communication standard, a gNB of the 5G communication standard, a remote radio head, a wireless access point, a drone control tower, or a communication device that performs similar functions. In this disclosure, "network device" and "base station" can be used interchangeably, or "network device" can be implemented as part of a "base station". The following application examples will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings using the network device as an example.

[0050] In the present disclosure, the term "user equipment (UE)" or "terminal device" has the full breadth of its usual meaning and includes at least a terminal device that is part of a wireless communication system or radio system to facilitate communication. As an example, a user device may be a terminal device or an element thereof such as a mobile phone, a laptop, a tablet computer, an in-vehicle communication device, a wearable device, a sensor, etc. In the present disclosure, "user equipment" (hereinafter referred to as "UE") and "terminal device" may be used interchangeably, or a "user equipment" may be implemented as a part of a "terminal device".

[0051] In this disclosure, the term "network device side" / "base station side" has the full breadth of its usual meaning, and generally refers to the side that transmits data in a downlink of a communication system, or the side that receives data in an uplink of a communication system. Similarly, the term "user equipment side" / "terminal equipment side" has the full breadth of its usual meaning, and can accordingly refer to the side that receives data in a downlink of a communication system, or the side that transmits data in an uplink of a communication system.

[0052] It should be noted that although the following description of the embodiments of the present disclosure is primarily based on a communication system including a network device and a user device, the description can be extended to the case of a communication system including any other type of network device side and user device side. For example, the operation on the network device side can correspond to the operation of a base station, and the operation on the user device side can correspond to the operation of a terminal device.

[0053] Figure 1 shows an example scenario diagram of cell switching in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the scenario of Figure 1, there is an Xn interface between the source base station and the target base station, and the cell switching is a switching based on the Xn interface (for example, a switching within the same AMF). It should be understood that Figure 1 only shows an example of a non-terrestrial network, and its specific implementation method may have more types and possible arrangements. For example, an actual non-terrestrial network may have more or fewer types of devices or a greater or lesser number of devices. The features of the present disclosure can be implemented in any of various systems as needed.

[0054] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a non-terrestrial network may include a base station (such as a gNB), a user equipment (UE), a satellite (such as a high orbit satellite (GEO), a medium orbit satellite (MEO), or a low orbit satellite (LEO)), and a network function in a core network (such as an access and mobility management function (AMF)).

[0055] Cell handover scenarios based on the Xn interface can be categorized into non-transparent satellite and transparent satellite scenarios. As shown in Figure 1, in a non-terrestrial network with non-transparent satellites, both the source and target base stations are satellite base stations, meaning they are both located on satellites and can communicate with UEs from the satellites. Xn protocol information is transmitted between the source and target satellite base stations via an inter-satellite link (ISL). The transmission distance between the UE and the satellite base station is the satellite altitude H, while the communication distance between the base station and the core network is the satellite altitude H plus the distance from the ground station to the core network. As shown in Figure 1, in a non-terrestrial network with transparent satellites, both the source and target base stations are terrestrial base stations, meaning they are both located on the ground. The satellite can forward signals from the base station to the UE and vice versa. Xn protocol information is transmitted between terrestrial base stations via optical fiber and other connections. The transmission distance between the UE and the base station is approximately twice the satellite altitude H, or 2H, while the distance from the base station to the core network is the ground distance, which can be tens to hundreds of kilometers. From the above, it can be seen that no matter in which scenario, the energy consumption of UE sending messages to base station is greater than that of terrestrial network, and the delay is longer (especially in the transparent satellite scenario).

[0056] Figure 2 shows an example scenario diagram of cell handover in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the scenario of Figure 2, the cell handover is a handover based on the N2 interface, which may be because there is no Xn interface between the source base station and the target base station or the source base station and the target base station are connected to different AMFs. It should be understood that Figure 2 only shows an example of a non-terrestrial network, and its specific implementation method may have more types and possible arrangements. For example, an actual non-terrestrial network may have more or fewer types of devices or a greater or lesser number of devices. The features of the present disclosure can be implemented in any of various systems as needed.

[0057] When the non-terrestrial network does not use the Xn interface, base stations cannot directly communicate and transmit switching information. Instead, switching information can be exchanged through the N2 interface between the base station and the core network. The cell switching scenarios based on the N2 interface can also be divided into non-transparent satellite and transparent satellite scenarios. As shown in Figure 2, in a non-terrestrial network with a non-transparent satellite, base stations transmit switching information through the N2 interface. The information must first be sent from the base station to the ground station and then to the core network. Then, the information must be sent from the core network to the ground station and then to another base station. That is, two transmissions between the ground and the satellite are required, resulting in a long delay. As shown in Figure 2, in a non-terrestrial network with a transparent satellite, the interaction between the UE and the base station requires two transmissions between the ground and the satellite, resulting in a long delay.

[0058] Traditional cell switching is generally UE-initiated, that is, the UE measures the signal quality between the source base station cell and the target base station cell, and sends a measurement report to the source base station when the predetermined conditions are met. After the source base station receives the report from the UE, it determines whether to perform the switch. If it is determined to perform the switch, the switching process begins. As mentioned above, the coverage time of the beam of a low-orbit satellite on the UE is very short. For example, for a satellite at an altitude of 600 kilometers, the beam coverage time is between 6 seconds and 130 seconds. Therefore, if the traditional cell switching mechanism is adopted, the UE may need to frequently send measurement messages to the base station, resulting in increased UE energy consumption. In particular, for battery-powered UEs in the Internet of Things, it is desirable to reduce this energy consumption as much as possible.

[0059] Some UEs in non-terrestrial networks (such as IoT terminal devices) may be fixed in position. For UEs in fixed positions, usually due to the periodicity of the satellite's rotation around the earth, the time of each switching, the source base station and the target base station involved in the switching may all show a certain periodicity. That is to say, for a UE in a fixed position, at some fixed time (or time period), it may always switch from the same source base station to the same target base station. Therefore, the present disclosure provides a method for switching initiated by a base station in a non-terrestrial network. The network function can analyze the switching model of the UE with a fixed position and notify it to the base station, and then at a predetermined time (or time period), the base station can initiate the switching, thereby reducing the number of measurements and signaling overhead that the UE needs to perform when switching, thereby achieving the purpose of saving energy consumption. It should be understood that the solution of the present disclosure is not limited to application to UEs in fixed positions, and can be applied to any other UE whose cell switching has a certain regularity, such as a UE whose position moves only within a limited range (for example, a few meters or tens of meters).

[0060] FIG3 illustrates an exemplary electronic device 300 for a first base station according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Electronic device 300 may correspond to the source base station in FIG1 and FIG2 , or electronic device 300 may be used to control the operation of the source base station in FIG1 and FIG2 . As shown in FIG3 , electronic device 300 may include processing circuitry 320 .

[0061] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing circuit 320 can be configured to: determine, based on a message received from a network function (e.g., AMF) in the core network, to initiate a first handover of the user equipment from a first base station (e.g., the source base station in Figures 1 and 2) to a second base station (e.g., the target base station in Figures 1 and 2) at a first time; send a handover request message to the second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated type; and in response to receiving a message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request, send a handover command to the user equipment, wherein the handover command instructs the user equipment to perform the first handover, and indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated type.

[0062] In the structural example of the above-mentioned device, the processing circuit 320 can be in the form of a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processing circuit, such as an ASIC. For example, the processing circuit 320 can be constructed by a circuit (hardware) or a central processing device (such as a central processing unit (CPU)). In addition, the processing circuit 320 can carry a program (software) for operating the circuit (hardware) or the central processing device. The program can be stored in a memory (such as, arranged in the memory) or an external storage medium connected from the outside, and can be downloaded via a network (such as, the Internet).

[0063] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing circuit 320 may include various units for implementing the above-mentioned functions, such as a handover initiation determination unit 322 configured to determine to initiate a first handover of the user equipment from the first base station to the second base station at a first time, a handover request message sending unit 324 configured to send a handover request message to the second base station, and a handover command sending unit 326 configured to send a handover command to the user equipment in response to receiving a message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request.

[0064] The units included in the processing circuit 320 can be communicatively coupled to each other (not shown). It should be noted that although the various units are shown as discrete units in Figure 3, one or more of these units can also be combined into one unit, or split into multiple units. It should be noted that the above-mentioned units are only logical modules divided according to the specific functions they implement, and are not used to limit the specific implementation method. For example, they can be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. In actual implementation, the above-mentioned various units can be implemented as independent physical entities, or can also be implemented by a single entity (for example, a processor (CPU or DSP, etc.), an integrated circuit, etc.).

[0065] The processing circuit 320 may be implemented as one or more other components in the base station-side electronic device, or may be implemented as the base station-side electronic device. In actual implementation, the processing circuit 320 may be implemented as a chip (such as an integrated circuit module including a single wafer), a hardware component, or a complete product.

[0066] It should be understood that Figure 3 is only a schematic structural configuration of the base station side electronic device, and the electronic device 300 may also include other possible components (for example, memory, etc.). Optionally, the electronic device 300 may also include other components not shown, such as memory, radio frequency link, baseband processing unit, network interface, controller, etc. The processing circuit may be associated with the memory and / or antenna. For example, the processing circuit may be directly or indirectly (for example, other components may be connected in between) connected to the memory to access data. For example, the processing circuit may be directly or indirectly connected to the antenna to send radio signals via the communication unit and receive radio signals via the communication unit.

[0067] The memory can store various information generated by the processing circuit 320, programs and data used for the operation of the base station-side electronic device, data to be transmitted by the base station-side electronic device, etc. The memory can also be located within the base station-side electronic device but outside the processing circuit, or even outside the base station-side electronic device. The memory can be volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. For example, the memory can include, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), and flash memory.

[0068] The functions of the units in the processing circuit 320 of the electronic device 300 for the first base station in Figure 3 will be described in detail below with reference to Figure 4. Figure 4 shows a flow chart of an example handover method 400 for a first base station in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0069] At step S410, a determination is made based on a message received from the network function to initiate a first handover of the user equipment to the second base station at a first time. This step S410 may be performed, for example, by the handover initiation determination unit 322 in FIG. According to some embodiments, the message received from the network function may include handover model parameters obtained by the network function based on handover data of multiple handovers of the user equipment-initiated type (i.e., traditional cell handovers) that occurred before the first handover, wherein the handover model parameters include at least an identifier of the user equipment, a set of handover times including the first time, an identifier of the first base station, and an identifier of the second base station.

[0070] According to some embodiments, the user equipment may be a user equipment of a fixed-position type. Before step S410, method 400 may further include receiving a message from a network function instructing the first base station to collect switching data of a set of user equipment of a fixed-position type including the user equipment, performing a first plurality of switchings of the user equipment-initiated type with the user equipment in the set of user equipment of the fixed-position type, and sending switching data of the first plurality of switchings to the network function, wherein the first plurality of switchings occurs before the first switching. The switching model parameters may be obtained by the network function based on the switching data of the first plurality of switchings. According to some embodiments, the switching model parameters may be obtained by the network function through the following operations: training a machine learning model (e.g., logistic regression, artificial neural network, etc.) using the switching data of the first plurality of switchings as training data; and generating switching model parameters by inputting the identifier of the user equipment into the trained machine learning model. It should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the network function may also obtain the switching model parameters based on any other suitable algorithm (e.g., calculating an average value, etc.). According to some embodiments, the handover data of each handover in the first plurality of handovers may include one or more of the following: an identifier of the user equipment associated with the handover, a time for initiating the handover determined by the source base station associated with the handover, a signal quality between the user equipment and the source base station reported by the source base station based on which the source base station decides to initiate the handover, and a signal quality between the user equipment and the target base station associated with the handover, an identifier of the source base station, an identifier of the target base station, an identifier of the satellite associated with the source base station, an identifier of the satellite associated with the target base station, weather conditions (e.g., rainy, cloudy, sunny, etc.), etc. It should be understood that the handover data can be sent after each handover is completed, or can be sent in batches to save signaling overhead. In addition, the network function can obtain part of the handover data, such as weather conditions, from other data sources.

[0071] According to some embodiments, a handover time set may include one or more handover times (or time periods) for the user equipment. For example, the handover time set may be {8:15:20 to 8:15:50, 16:10, and 23:55}, indicating that the network function recommends that the user equipment perform three handovers per day based on the analysis results, with the first handover occurring between 8:15:20 and 8:15:50, the second handover occurring at 16:10, and the third handover occurring at 23:55. It should be understood that this is merely an example, and the user equipment may perform any number of handovers per day, and the first handover time may also be a single time point, the second and third handover times may also be time periods, and so on. When the handover time is a time period (e.g., 8:15:20 to 8:15:50), the first base station may select a time point within the time period to initiate the handover based on any appropriate strategy, such as the earliest time point in the time period, the time point in the middle of the time period, and so on.

[0072] According to some embodiments, handover method 400 may further include, before step S410, after receiving the handover model parameters from the network function, performing a second plurality of user equipment-initiated handovers with the user equipment; and sending handover data for the second plurality of handovers to the network function, wherein the second plurality of handovers occur before the first handover. According to some embodiments, the handover data for each handover in the second plurality of handovers may include one or more of the following: an identifier of the user equipment associated with the handover, a time determined by a source base station associated with the handover to initiate the handover, signal quality reported by the user equipment with the source base station and a signal quality with a target base station associated with the handover based on the source base station's determination to initiate the handover, an identifier of the source base station, an identifier of the target base station, an identifier of a satellite associated with the source base station, an identifier of a satellite associated with the target base station, weather conditions, etc. It should be understood that the handover data may be sent after each handover or in batches to reduce signaling overhead. Furthermore, the network function may obtain a portion of the handover data from other data sources, such as weather conditions.

[0073] The network function may test the accuracy of the handover model by comparing the handover data of the second plurality of handovers with the handover model parameters. In response to determining that the proportion of handovers in the second plurality of handovers whose handover data matches the handover model parameters exceeds a threshold (e.g., 70%, 80%, etc.), the first base station may receive a message from the network function indicating that a base station-initiated handover can be initiated. According to some embodiments, determining in step S410 to initiate a first handover of the user equipment to the second base station at the first time may be performed at least in response to receiving a message indicating that a base station-initiated handover can be initiated.

[0074] Then, the process proceeds to step S420. At step S420, a handover request message is sent to the second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated type. Step S420 can be performed, for example, by the handover request message sending unit 324 in Figure 3. For example, the handover request message may include one or more bits indicating that the handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated type. The handover request message may also include relevant information such as the number of sessions. According to some embodiments, for example, for the handover scenario based on the Xn interface shown in Figure 1, sending the handover request message to the second base station includes directly sending the handover request message to the second base station. According to some embodiments, for example, for the handover scenario based on the N2 interface shown in Figure 2, sending the handover request message to the second base station includes sending a handover requirement to the network function, wherein the type of the handover requirement is configured as a base station initiated type, and then the network function sends the handover request message to the second base station in response to receiving the handover requirement.

[0075] Then, in response to receiving a message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request, the process proceeds to step S430. At step S430, a handover command (e.g., an RRCConfiguration message) may be sent to the user equipment, wherein the handover command instructs the user equipment to perform the first handover and indicates that the handover type of the first handover is base station initiated. For example, the handover command may include one or more bits indicating that the handover type of the first handover is base station initiated. Step S430 may be performed, for example, by the handover command sending unit 326 in Figure 3. According to some embodiments, for example, for the handover scenario based on the Xn interface shown in Figure 1, the message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request may be a confirmation message for the handover request received from the second base station. According to some embodiments, for example, for the handover scenario based on the N2 interface shown in Figure 2, the message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request may be a handover command received from the network function. That is, the network function may receive a confirmation message for the handover request from the second base station and then send the handover command to the first base station.

[0076] In response to receiving a message instructing the second base station to reject the handover request, the process proceeds to step S440. At step S440, a message may be sent to the user equipment indicating that the handover type has been changed to user equipment initiated. In some embodiments, the second base station may check its own resources and, if it finds that it cannot meet the needs of the user equipment that desires handover, send a message rejecting the handover request. In this case, the user equipment may be notified to revert to the traditional method for this handover, i.e., the user equipment first performs signal quality measurement and then reports it to the base station. Step S440 may be performed, for example, by the handover command sending unit 326 in Figure 3, or may be performed by other units not shown in Figure 3.

[0077] After step S430, the process may proceed to step S450. At step S450, the switching data of the first switching may be sent to the network function after the first switching is completed. It should be understood that between steps S430 and S450, the first base station may also perform one or more steps related to the switching (for example, sending an SN Status Transfer message to the second base station, etc.). In some embodiments, the network function may improve the switching model parameters based on the switching data of the first switching, thereby improving the accuracy of the switching model. According to some embodiments, the switching data of the first switching may include one or more of the following: an identifier of the user equipment associated with the first switching, a time (i.e., a first time) determined by the source base station associated with the first switching to initiate the switching, an identifier of the source base station, an identifier of the target base station, an identifier of the satellite associated with the source base station, an identifier of the satellite associated with the target base station, weather conditions, etc.

[0078] Although the cell handover technology described in the present disclosure is not limited to application to user equipment at a fixed location and can be applied to any other user equipment whose cell handover has a certain regularity, the core network may wish to know whether the location of the user equipment is fixed, so that different mechanisms (for example, sending different signaling, etc.) can be used for user equipment of a fixed location type and user equipment of a mobile location type during cell handover. Therefore, according to some embodiments, a user equipment of a fixed location in a non-terrestrial network can register its location type information during registration with the core network. The registration method and device for a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure are described below in conjunction with Figures 5-6, 9, and 10.

[0079] FIG5 illustrates an exemplary electronic device 500 for a base station according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Electronic device 500 may correspond to any base station (e.g., a source base station or a target base station) in FIG1 and FIG2 , or electronic device 500 may be used to control the operation of any base station (e.g., a source base station or a target base station) in FIG1 and FIG2 . As shown in FIG5 , electronic device 500 may include processing circuitry 520.

[0080] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing circuit 520 can be configured to: receive a registration request message from a user equipment, wherein the registration request message includes a location type bit, and the location type bit indicates whether the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed location type or a user equipment of a mobile location type; send a registration request message to a network function; and based on a confirmation of the registration request message received from the network function, send a registration acceptance message to the user equipment, wherein, in response to the location type bit indicating that the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed location type, the registration acceptance message includes information indicating that the switching type of the user equipment is configured as a base station initiated type.

[0081] In the structural example of the above-mentioned device, the processing circuit 520 can be in the form of a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processing circuit, such as an ASIC. For example, the processing circuit 520 can be constructed by a circuit (hardware) or a central processing device (such as a central processing unit (CPU)). In addition, the processing circuit 520 can carry a program (software) for operating the circuit (hardware) or the central processing device. The program can be stored in a memory (such as, arranged in the memory) or an external storage medium connected from the outside, and can be downloaded via a network (such as, the Internet).

[0082] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing circuit 520 may include various units for implementing the above-mentioned functions, such as a registration request message receiving unit 522 configured to receive a registration request message from a user equipment, a registration request message sending unit 524 configured to send a registration request message to a network function, and a registration acceptance message sending unit 526 configured to send a registration acceptance message to the user equipment based on a confirmation of the registration request message received from the network function.

[0083] The units included in the processing circuit 520 can be communicatively coupled to each other (not shown). It should be noted that although the various units are shown as separate units in Figure 5, one or more of these units can also be combined into one unit, or split into multiple units. It should be noted that the above-mentioned various units are only logical modules divided according to the specific functions they implement, and are not used to limit the specific implementation method. For example, they can be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. In actual implementation, the above-mentioned various units can be implemented as independent physical entities, or can also be implemented by a single entity (for example, a processor (CPU or DSP, etc.), an integrated circuit, etc.).

[0084] The processing circuit 520 may be implemented as one or more other components in the base station side electronic device, or may be implemented as the base station side electronic device. In actual implementation, the processing circuit 520 may be implemented as a chip (such as an integrated circuit module including a single wafer), a hardware component, or a complete product.

[0085] It should be understood that FIG5 is only a schematic structural configuration of the electronic device at the base station side, and similar to the electronic device 300, the electronic device 500 may also include other possible components (eg, memory, etc.), which will not be described in detail herein.

[0086] The functions of the units in the processing circuit 520 of the electronic device 500 for the base station in Figure 5 will be described in detail below with reference to Figure 6. Figure 6 shows a flow chart of an example registration method 600 for a base station in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0087] At step S610, a registration request message is received from a user equipment, wherein the registration request message includes a location type bit, which indicates whether the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed location type or a user equipment of a mobile location type. The registration request message may be, for example, a registration request ("Registration Request") message described in 3GPP TS 23.502 V17.6.0 (2022-09). Step S610 may be performed, for example, by the registration request message receiving unit 522 in Figure 5. The location type bit may include one or more bits. According to some embodiments, the location type bit is one bit, and, for example, "0" may represent a user equipment of a fixed location type, and "1" may represent a user equipment of a mobile location type. Any other suitable manner may also be used to indicate the location type of the user equipment. In addition, for a user equipment of a fixed location type, the registration request message may further include a field of N1 bytes in length for indicating the geographic location information of the user equipment, such as global positioning system (GPS) coordinates.

[0088] The process then proceeds to step S620. At step S620, a registration request message from the user equipment is sent to a network function (e.g., AMF). This step S620 can be performed, for example, by the registration request message sending unit 524 in Figure 5. Before sending the registration request message to the network function, step S620 may also include performing network function selection. The network function may register the user equipment based on the location type bit in the registration request message. For example, for the above example, when the location type bit is "0", the user equipment is registered as a user equipment of a fixed location type; when the location type bit is "1", the user equipment is registered as a user equipment of a mobile location type. For user equipment of a fixed location type, its geographic location information may also be registered. After the registration is completed, the network function may send a confirmation of the registration request message to the base station.

[0089] Then, the process proceeds to step S630. At step S630, based on the confirmation of the registration request message received from the network function, a registration accept message is sent to the user equipment. The registration accept message may be, for example, the registration accept message ("Registration accept message") described in 3GPP TS 23.502 V17.6.0 (2022-09). Step S630 may be performed, for example, by the registration accept message sending unit 526 in Figure 5. According to some embodiments, in response to the location type bit indicating that the user equipment is a user equipment of a location-fixed type, the registration accept message may include information indicating that the handover type of the user equipment is configured as a base station initiated type, and the information may include one or more bits.

[0090] The above description of methods and devices for base stations in non-terrestrial networks according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is described in conjunction with Figures 3 to 6. The following description of methods and devices for user equipment in non-terrestrial networks according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is described in conjunction with Figures 7 to 10.

[0091] FIG7 illustrates an exemplary electronic device 700 for a user equipment according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Electronic device 700 may correspond to any of the UEs in FIG1 and FIG2 , or may be used to control the operation of any of the UEs in FIG1 and FIG2 . The UE is currently communicating with a first base station (i.e., the source base station for handover). As shown in FIG7 , electronic device 700 may include processing circuitry 720.

[0092] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing circuit 720 can be configured to: receive a switching command from a first base station, wherein the switching command instructs the user equipment to perform a first switching to a second base station, and indicates that the switching type of the first switching is base station initiated; perform signal quality measurement between the user equipment and the first base station and signal quality measurement between the user equipment and the second base station within a predetermined time period; and perform the first switching in response to determining that the signal quality between the user equipment and the first base station and the signal quality between the user equipment and the second base station meet a predefined condition within the predetermined time period.

[0093] In the above device structure example, similar to processing circuits 320 and 520, processing circuit 720 can be in the form of a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processing circuit. In addition, processing circuit 720 can carry a program (software) for operating the circuit (hardware) or central processing device.

[0094] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing circuit 720 may include various units for implementing the above-mentioned functions, such as a handover command receiving unit 722 configured to receive a handover command from the first base station, a signal quality measurement execution unit 724 configured to perform signal quality measurement between the user equipment and the first base station and signal quality measurement between the user equipment and the second base station within a predetermined time period, and a handover execution unit 726 configured to perform a first handover in response to determining that the signal quality between the user equipment and the first base station and the signal quality between the user equipment and the second base station meet a predefined condition within a predetermined time period.

[0095] The units included in the processing circuit 720 can be communicatively coupled to each other (not shown). It should be noted that, although the various units are shown as discrete units in FIG7 , one or more of these units can also be combined into one unit, or split into multiple units. It should be noted that the above-mentioned various units are only logical modules divided according to the specific functions they implement, and are not used to limit the specific implementation method. For example, it can be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. The processing circuit 720 can be implemented to include one or more other components in the user device side electronic device, or can be implemented as a user device side electronic device. In actual implementation, the processing circuit 720 can be implemented as a chip (such as an integrated circuit module including a single chip), a hardware component, or a complete product.

[0096] It should be understood that FIG7 is only a schematic structural configuration of the electronic device at the base station side, and similar to the electronic devices 300 and 500, the electronic device 700 may also include other possible components (eg, memory, etc.), which will not be described in detail herein.

[0097] The functions of the units in the processing circuit 720 of the electronic device 700 for the user equipment in Figure 7 will be described in detail below with reference to Figure 8. Figure 8 shows a flow chart of an example handover method 800 for a user equipment in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0098] At step S810, a handover command (e.g., an RRCReconfiguration message) is received from the first base station, wherein the handover command instructs the user equipment to perform a first handover to the second base station and indicates that the handover type of the first handover is base station-initiated. Step S810 may be performed, for example, by the handover command receiving unit 722 in FIG. 7 .

[0099] The process then proceeds to step S820. At step S820, signal quality measurements are performed with the first base station and with the second base station within a predetermined time period. Step S820 may be performed, for example, by the signal quality measurement execution unit 724 in Figure 7. According to some embodiments, step S820 may include starting a timer with a time length of S. Before the timer expires, the user equipment may continuously measure the signal quality with the first base station (i.e., the source base station) and the signal quality with the second base station (i.e., the target base station). The signal quality measurement may be based on a reference signal previously received from the base station, or the user equipment may send a request for a reference signal to the base station in step S820 and then perform signal quality measurement based on the reference signal received from the base station. Examples of reference signals may include synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs), and other reference signals known to those skilled in the art. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, signal quality includes, but is not limited to, reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.

[0100] The process then proceeds to step S830. At step S830, a determination is made as to whether the signal quality between the user equipment and the first base station, and the signal quality between the user equipment and the second base station, within a predetermined time period, satisfies a predefined condition. Step S830 can be performed, for example, by the signal quality measurement execution unit 724 in FIG. 7 , or by another unit not shown in the processing circuit 720 . For example, the predefined condition can be that the signal quality between the user equipment and the second base station exceeds a second signal quality threshold, or that the signal quality between the user equipment and the first base station is lower than the first signal quality threshold and the signal quality between the user equipment and the second base station exceeds a second signal quality threshold, or that the difference between the signal quality between the user equipment and the second base station and the signal quality between the user equipment and the first base station is higher than a third threshold. If the result of step S830 is "yes," the process proceeds to step S840; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S850.

[0101] At step S840, in response to determining that the signal quality between the user equipment and the first base station and the signal quality between the user equipment and the second base station meet predefined conditions within a predetermined time period, a first handover is performed. This step S840 may be performed, for example, by the handover execution unit 726 in Figure 7. According to some embodiments, in response to determining that the signal quality between the user equipment and the first base station and the signal quality between the user equipment and the second base station meet predefined conditions within the predetermined time period, the signal quality measurement may be stopped and the timer started in step S820 may be stopped. According to some embodiments, performing the first handover may include performing a random access channel (RACH) procedure with the second base station and sending an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the second base station after the RACH procedure is successful.

[0102] At step S850, in response to determining that the signal quality between the user equipment and the first base station and the signal quality between the user equipment and the second base station do not meet the predefined condition within the predetermined time period, a measurement report may be sent to the first base station. According to some embodiments, determining that the signal quality between the user equipment and the first base station and the signal quality between the user equipment and the second base station do not meet the predefined condition within the predetermined time period may include: upon expiration of the timer started in step S820, determining that the signal quality still fails to meet the predefined condition. The measurement report may include the results of each signal quality measurement performed between the user equipment and the first base station and the second base station within the predetermined time period, or may include only the result of the last signal quality measurement, etc. After receiving the measurement report, the first base station may check the reported signal quality and understand that the user equipment is currently not eligible for handover to the second base station.

[0103] Then, the process proceeds to step S860. At step S860, a message indicating that the first handover is stopped and the handover type is changed to UE-initiated may be received from the first base station. That is, the first base station notifies the UE that the handover may be performed in a traditional manner.

[0104] The process then proceeds to step S870. At step S870, signal quality measurements may be performed with the first base station and with one or more base stations, including the second base station, thereby initiating the user equipment-initiated handover process. Following S870, method 800 may optionally include one or more other steps of user equipment-initiated handover, such as sending a measurement report to the first base station when the signal quality meets a predetermined condition, etc.

[0105] It should be understood that steps S850 , S860 and S870 may be executed by any unit in the processing circuit 720 or by other units not shown. For example, step S870 may be executed by the signal quality measurement execution unit 724 .

[0106] The following describes a registration method and device for a user equipment on a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to Figures 9 and 10. Figure 9 shows an exemplary electronic device 900 for a user equipment according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0107] The electronic device 900 may correspond to any UE in Figures 1 and 2 , or the electronic device 900 may be used to control the operation of any UE in Figures 1 and 2 . As shown in FIG9 , the electronic device 900 may include a processing circuit 920 .

[0108] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing circuit 920 can be configured to: send a registration request message to a base station, wherein the registration request message includes a location type bit, and the location type bit indicates whether the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed location type or a user equipment of a mobile location type; and receive a registration acceptance message from the base station, wherein in response to the location type bit indicating that the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed location type, the registration acceptance message includes information indicating that the switching type of the user equipment is configured as a base station initiated type.

[0109] In the above device structure example, the processing circuit 920 can be in the form of a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processing circuit. In addition, the processing circuit 920 can carry a program (software) for operating the circuit (hardware) or central processing device.

[0110] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing circuit 920 may include various units for implementing the above functions, such as a registration request message sending unit 922 configured to send a registration request message to a base station, and a registration acceptance message receiving unit 924 configured to receive a registration acceptance message from a base station.

[0111] Similar to the processing circuit 720, the units included in the processing circuit 920 can be communicatively coupled to each other (not shown). It should be noted that although the various units are shown as discrete units in Figure 9, one or more of these units can also be combined into one unit, or split into multiple units. It should be noted that the above-mentioned various units are only logical modules divided according to the specific functions they implement, and are not used to limit the specific implementation method. The processing circuit 920 can be implemented to include one or more other components in the user device side electronic device, or can be implemented as a user device side electronic device. In actual implementation, the processing circuit 920 can be implemented as a chip (such as an integrated circuit module including a single chip), a hardware component or a complete product.

[0112] It should be understood that FIG9 is only a schematic structural configuration of the electronic device on the user equipment side, and similar to the electronic device 700, the electronic device 900 may also include other possible components (eg, memory, etc.), which will not be described in detail herein.

[0113] The functions of the units in the processing circuit 920 of the electronic device 900 for the user equipment in Figure 9 will be described in detail below with reference to Figure 10. Figure 10 shows a flow chart of an example registration method 1000 for a user equipment in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0114] At step S1010, a registration request message is sent to the base station, where the registration request message includes a location type bit that indicates whether the user equipment is a fixed-location user equipment or a mobile-location user equipment. Step S1010 may be performed, for example, by the registration request message sending unit 922 in FIG. An example of the registration request message and the location type bit is described in detail in the description of step S610 in FIG. Such details are omitted here.

[0115] The process then proceeds to step S1020. At step S1020, a registration accept message is received from the base station. In response to the location type bit indicating that the user equipment is a fixed-location user equipment, the registration accept message includes information indicating that the user equipment's handover type is configured as base station-initiated. Step S1020 can be performed, for example, by the registration accept message receiving unit 924 in Figure 9. An example of the registration accept message has been described in detail in the description of step S630 in Figure 6 above and will not be repeated here.

[0116] The following describes a registration method and device for a network function side of a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to Figures 11 and 12. Figure 11 shows an exemplary electronic device 1100 for a network function according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0117] The electronic device 1100 may correspond to a network function (NF) in the core network in Figures 1 and 2, or the electronic device 1100 may be used to control the operation of the network function in the core network in Figures 1 and 2. The network function may be, for example, an AMF, or may be any other suitable network function currently known or developed in the future. As shown in Figure 11, the electronic device 1100 may include a processing circuit 1120.

[0118] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing circuit 1120 can be configured to: receive a registration request message of a user equipment (for example, any UE in Figures 1 and 2) from a base station, wherein the registration request message includes a location type bit, and the location type bit indicates whether the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed-position type or a user equipment of a mobile-position type; register the user equipment based on the registration request message; and send a confirmation of the registration request message to the base station, wherein, in response to the location type bit indicating that the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed-position type, the base station sends a registration acceptance message to the user equipment, and the registration acceptance message includes information indicating that the switching type of the user equipment is configured as a base station-initiated type.

[0119] In the above device structure example, the processing circuit 1120 can be in the form of a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processing circuit. In addition, the processing circuit 1120 can carry a program (software) for operating the circuit (hardware) or central processing device.

[0120] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing circuit 1120 may include various units for implementing the above-mentioned functions, such as a registration request message receiving unit 1122 configured to receive a registration request message of a user equipment from a base station, a registration unit 1124 configured to register the user equipment based on the registration request message, and a confirmation sending unit 1126 configured to send a confirmation of the registration request message to the base station.

[0121] Similar to the processing circuit 520, the units included in the processing circuit 1120 can be communicatively coupled to each other (not shown). It should be noted that although the various units are shown as discrete units in Figure 11, one or more of these units can also be combined into one unit, or split into multiple units. It should be noted that the above-mentioned various units are only logical modules divided according to the specific functions they implement, and are not used to limit the specific implementation method. The processing circuit 1120 can be implemented as one or more other components in an electronic device including a network function, or can be implemented as an electronic device for a network function. In actual implementation, the processing circuit 1120 can be implemented as a chip (such as an integrated circuit module including a single chip), a hardware component or a complete product.

[0122] It should be understood that FIG11 is merely a schematic structural configuration of an electronic device for network functions, and similar to the electronic device 700, the electronic device 1100 may also include other possible components (eg, memory, etc.), which will not be described in detail herein.

[0123] The functions of the units in the processing circuit 1120 of the electronic device 1100 for network functions in Figure 10 will be described in detail below with reference to Figure 12. Figure 12 shows a flow chart of an example registration method 1200 for network functions in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0124] At step S1210, a registration request message from a user equipment is received from a base station, wherein the registration request message includes a location type bit that indicates whether the user equipment is a fixed-location user equipment or a mobile-location user equipment. Step S1210 may be performed, for example, by the registration request message receiving unit 1122 in FIG. An example of a registration request message and a location type bit has been described in detail in the description of step S610 in FIG. Such details will not be repeated here.

[0125] The process then proceeds to step S1220. At step S1220, the user equipment is registered based on the registration request message. Step S1220 may be performed, for example, by the registration unit 1124 in FIG11. The registration process has been illustrated in the description of step S620 in FIG6 above and will not be repeated here.

[0126] The process then proceeds to step S1230. At step S1230, an acknowledgment of the registration request message is sent to the base station. In response to the location type bit indicating that the user equipment is a location-fixed user equipment, after receiving an acknowledgment of the registration request message from the network function, the base station sends a registration accept message to the user equipment. The registration accept message includes information indicating that the handover type of the user equipment is configured as base station-initiated. Step S1230 can be performed, for example, by the confirmation sending unit 1126 in Figure 11. An example of the registration accept message has been described in detail in the description of step S630 in Figure 6 above and will not be repeated here.

[0127] The following describes a handover method and device for a second base station in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, with reference to Figures 13 and 14. Figure 13 illustrates an exemplary electronic device 1300 for a second base station according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Electronic device 1300 may correspond to the target base station in Figures 1 and 2, or may be used to control the operation of the target base station in Figures 1 and 2. As shown in Figure 13, electronic device 1300 may include processing circuitry 1320.

[0128] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing circuit 1320 can be configured to: receive a handover request message from the first base station for a first handover of a user equipment to a second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that the handover type of the first handover is base station initiated and the first handover is determined by the first base station to be initiated at the first time based on a message received from a network function; and in response to determining that the resources meet the requirements of the first handover, send a message to the first base station indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request.

[0129] Similar to processing circuit 320, in the above-described device structure example, processing circuit 1320 can be in the form of a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processing circuit, such as an ASIC. Furthermore, processing circuit 1320 can carry a program (software) for operating the circuit (hardware) or central processing unit.

[0130] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing circuit 1320 may include various units for implementing the above-mentioned functions, such as a switching request message receiving unit 1322 configured to receive a switching request message from the first base station for the first switching of the user equipment to the second base station, and a switching acceptance message sending unit 1324 configured to send a message to the first base station indicating that the second base station accepts the switching request in response to determining that the resources meet the requirements of the first switching.

[0131] The units included in the processing circuit 1320 can be communicatively coupled to each other (not shown). It should be noted that although the various units are shown as discrete units in Figure 13, one or more of these units can also be combined into one unit, or split into multiple units. It should be noted that the above-mentioned various units are only logical modules divided according to the specific functions they implement, and are not used to limit the specific implementation. The processing circuit 1320 can be implemented to include one or more other components in the base station side electronic device, or can be implemented as a base station side electronic device. In actual implementation, the processing circuit 1320 can be implemented as a chip (such as an integrated circuit module including a single chip), a hardware component or a complete product.

[0132] It should be understood that FIG13 is merely a schematic structural configuration of the electronic device at the base station side, and the electronic device 1300 may also include other possible components (eg, memory, etc.).

[0133] The functions of the units in the processing circuit 1320 of the electronic device 1300 for the second base station in Figure 13 will be described in detail below with reference to Figure 14. Figure 14 shows a flow chart of an example handover method 1400 for a second base station in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0134] At step S1410, a handover request message is received from a first base station for a first handover of a user equipment to a second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that the handover type of the first handover is base station-initiated, and that the first handover is determined by the first base station to be initiated at a first time based on a message received from a network function. Step S1410 may be performed, for example, by the handover request message receiving unit 1322 in FIG. 13 . According to some embodiments, for example, for the handover scenario based on the Xn interface shown in FIG. 1 , receiving the handover request message from the first base station may include directly receiving the handover request message from the first base station. According to some embodiments, for example, for the handover scenario based on the N2 interface shown in FIG. 2 , the first base station sends a handover request to the network function, and the network function sends a handover request message to the second base station in response to receiving the handover request. In this case, receiving the handover request message from the first base station may include receiving the handover request message from the network function.

[0135] Then, the process proceeds to step S1420. At step S1420, it is determined whether the resources meet the requirements of the first handover. According to some embodiments, the handover request message may include relevant information such as the number of sessions, and the second base station may check the available resources (for example, the number of sessions supported) to determine whether the requirements of the first handover can be met. In response to determining that the resources meet the requirements of the first handover, the process proceeds to step S1430; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S1460. At step S1460, in response to determining that the resources do not meet the requirements of the first handover, a message is sent to the first base station indicating that the second base station rejects the handover request. After receiving the message indicating that the second base station rejects the handover request, the first base station may send a message to the user equipment indicating that the handover type is changed to user equipment initiated type.

[0136] At step S1430, in response to determining that the resources meet the requirements for the first handover, a message is sent to the first base station indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request. This step S1430 may be performed, for example, by the handover acceptance message sending unit 1324 in Figure 13. According to some embodiments, for example, for the handover scenario based on the Xn interface shown in Figure 1, sending the message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request to the first base station may include directly sending a confirmation message for the handover request to the first base station. According to some embodiments, for example, for the handover scenario based on the N2 interface shown in Figure 2, sending the message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request to the first base station may include sending a confirmation message for the handover request to the network function. The network function may then send a handover command to the first base station in response to receiving the confirmation message. The first base station may send the handover command to the user equipment, and the user equipment may perform signal quality measurements within a predetermined time period. If the signal quality meets predefined conditions, the first handover may be performed. At this point, one or more steps for the first handover may optionally be performed after step S1430, such as receiving an SN state transition message and downlink data from the first base station or sending a path switch request to the AMF.

[0137] The process may proceed to step S1440. At step S1440, a message instructing to stop the first handover is received from the first base station. If the handover is unsuccessful due to various reasons, the first base station may send a message to the second base station to stop the first handover. For example, when the signal quality measured by the user equipment does not meet predefined conditions, the user equipment may send a measurement report to the first base station. Based on the measurement report, the first base station may determine that the user equipment is not currently qualified to handover to the second base station, and thus send a message to the second base station to stop the first handover.

[0138] The process may proceed to step S1450. At step S1450, the resources prepared for the first handover are released. For example, the resources may be prepared in or after step S1430. Steps S1420, S1440, S1450, and S1460 may be performed, for example, by any unit in FIG13 or a unit not shown.

[0139] The following will illustrate the information interaction of the switching and registration process in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to Figures 15-22. Figure 15 shows an information interaction diagram of a cell switching process in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The non-terrestrial network includes a user equipment (UE), a source base station, a target base station, a satellite (not shown), and an AMF. The user equipment can communicate with a source base station or a target base station located on a satellite (for example, a non-transparent satellite system shown in Figure 1), or can communicate with a source base station or a target base station located on the ground via a satellite (for example, a transparent satellite system shown in Figure 1). The switching process is a switching process based on an Xn interface, wherein the source base station and the target base station can exchange information based on the Xn interface. It should be understood that although AMF is shown as an example of a network function in Figure 15, any other suitable network function can also be used.

[0140] As shown in Figure 15 , at 1502, the AMF may send a message to the source base station, including an indication to initiate a handover at a first time. The message may include handover model parameters, where the handover model parameters include at least a user equipment identifier, a handover time set including the first time, an identifier of the source base station, and an identifier of the target base station. For example, the handover model parameters may include: {UE_0, T1, gNB_1, gNB_2}, {UE_0, T2, gNB_2, gNB_3}, {UE_0, T3, gNB_3, gNB_4}, where UE_0 is the UE identifier, T1, T2, and T3 are handover times (or time periods), and gNB_1, gNB_2, gNB_3, and gNB_4 are base station identifiers.

[0141] At 1504, the source base station may determine to initiate a handover. For example, assuming the source base station identifier is gNB_1, after receiving the model parameters, it may determine that a handover of UE_0 to the target base station gNB_2 can be initiated at time T1. If T1 is a time period, the source base station may also select a time point within the time period (e.g., the earliest time point in the time period, a time point in the middle of the time period, etc.) to initiate the handover based on a predetermined policy. At 1506, the source base station may send a handover request message to the target base station (e.g., gNB_2), indicating that the handover type is base station-initiated.

[0142] At 1508, the target base station may send a message to the source base station indicating acceptance of the handover request. At 1510, the source base station may send a handover command to the user equipment, indicating that the handover type is base station-initiated. At 1512, the user equipment may perform signal measurements. The user equipment may measure the signal quality between it and the source base station and the signal quality between it and the target base station.

[0143] At 1514, the UE may perform a handover to the target base station. This may include multiple interactions between the UE, the source base station, and the target base station as described above, and may also include interactions with the AMF (e.g., the target base station sends a path switch request to the AMF), which will not be repeated here.

[0144] At 1516, after the handover is completed, the source base station may send handover data to the AMF. The handover data may include one or more of the following: an identifier of the user equipment, the time determined by the source base station to initiate the handover, an identifier of the source base station, an identifier of the target base station, an identifier of the satellite associated with the source base station, an identifier of the satellite associated with the target base station, weather conditions, etc. The handover data may be sent after each handover is completed, or may be sent in batches. The AMF may analyze (e.g., learn) the handover data of actual base station-initiated handovers to improve the handover model parameters.

[0145] It should be noted that the information interaction diagram shown in FIG15 is merely an example and is not intended to be limiting. The diagram may include more or fewer steps, and the steps may be performed in an order different from the order depicted in the diagram. It should be understood that the details of some of the operations in FIG15 have been described in detail in conjunction with FIG4 , FIG8 , and FIG14 , and will not be repeated here.

[0146] FIG16 shows an information interaction diagram for a cell handover process in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The handover process may occur after 1512 in FIG15 .

[0147] As shown in Figure 16, at 1602, the user equipment may determine that the signal quality does not meet a predefined condition. At 1604, the user equipment may send a measurement report to the source base station.

[0148] At 1606, the source base station may send a message to the target base station instructing it to stop the handover. In a handover over the Xn interface, this message may be sent directly to the target base station; in a handover over the N2 interface, this message may be forwarded to the target base station via the AMF. At 1608, the source base station may send a message to the user equipment instructing it to stop the handover and change the handover type to user equipment initiated. 1606 and 1608 may occur simultaneously, or 1608 may occur before 1606.

[0149] At 1612, the user equipment may perform signal measurements in preparation for performing a user equipment initiated handover. At 1610, the target base station may release resources prepared for the handover. 1610 and 1612 may occur simultaneously or in any order.

[0150] It should be noted that the information interaction diagram shown in FIG16 is merely an example and is not intended to be limiting. The diagram may include more or fewer steps, and the steps may be performed in an order different from the order depicted in the diagram. It should be understood that the details of some of the operations in FIG16 have been described in detail in conjunction with FIG4 , FIG8 , and FIG14 , and will not be repeated here.

[0151] Figure 17 shows an information interaction diagram for a handover data collection process in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. This handover process may occur before 1502 in Figure 15. In order to learn the handover rules of the user equipment, the AMF needs to collect sufficient data.

[0152] As shown in Figure 17, at 1702, the AMF may send a message to the source base station, which instructs the source base station to collect user equipment-initiated switching data of a set of user equipment of the fixed-position type. The AMF may send the message to one or more base stations in the non-terrestrial network (including the target base station in Figure 17) to obtain data when the user equipment switches within the cells of different base stations. The message may be sent only once, or multiple times. Since the regularity of switching performed by user equipment of the fixed-position type is often stronger, the switching data of such user equipment is collected preferentially. It should be understood that the method of the embodiment of the present disclosure may also be applicable to user equipment of a non-fixed-position type, as long as there is a certain regularity (for example, periodicity) in its switching.

[0153] At 1704, a first plurality of handovers of user equipment-initiated type may be performed. The process may involve multiple interactions between the user equipment, (one or more) source base stations, (one or more) target base stations, and the AMF.

[0154] At 1706, the source base station may send handover data to the AMF. The target base station in Figure 17 may also send handover data for a handover performed when it is the source base station to the AMF. The handover data may be sent individually or in batches. The handover data may include one or more of the following: an identifier of the user equipment associated with the handover, a time determined by the source base station associated with the handover to initiate the handover, signal quality between the user equipment and the source base station and signal quality between the user equipment and the target base station associated with the handover as reported by the user equipment based on which the source base station decides to initiate the handover, an identifier of the source base station, an identifier of the target base station, an identifier of a satellite associated with the source base station, an identifier of a satellite associated with the target base station, weather conditions, etc. The switching data can be, for example, {UE_1, T2, RSRP_S, RSRP_T, gNB_2, gNB_4, ST_2, ST_4}, where UE_1 is the identifier of the user equipment, T2 is the time determined by the source base station to initiate the switching, RSRP_S is the RSRP reported by the user equipment between the source base station and the source base station based on which the source base station decides to initiate the switching, RSRP_T is the RSRP reported by the user equipment between the target base station and the source base station based on which the source base station decides to initiate the switching, gNB_2 and gNB_4 are the identifiers of the source base station and the target base station respectively, and ST_2 and ST_4 are the identifiers of the satellites associated with the source base station and the target base station respectively.

[0155] It should be noted that the information interaction diagram shown in FIG17 is merely an example and is not intended to be limiting. The diagram may include more or fewer steps, and the steps may be performed in an order different from the order depicted in the diagram. It should be understood that the details of some of the operations in FIG17 have been described in detail in conjunction with FIG4 and will not be repeated here.

[0156] Figure 18 shows an information interaction diagram for obtaining handover model parameters in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The non-terrestrial network includes base station 1, base station 2, a satellite (not shown), and an AMF. Base station 1 and base station 2 can be either the source base station or the target base station in Figures 16 and 17, respectively, or can be other base stations in the non-terrestrial network.

[0157] As shown in Figure 18, at 1802, the AMF may obtain handover model parameters based on the handover data. For example, the AMF may train a machine learning model (e.g., logistic regression, artificial neural network, etc.) using the handover data of the first plurality of handovers received in Figure 17 as training data; and generate the handover model parameters by inputting the identifier of the user equipment into the trained machine learning model.

[0158] At 1804, the AMF may send a message including the handover model parameters to base station 1 and base station 2, which may be the message sent at 1502 in Figure 15. The AMF may send the message to all base stations in the non-terrestrial network, or may send the message only to the source base station included in the handover model parameters.

[0159] It should be noted that the information interaction diagram shown in FIG18 is merely an example and is not intended to be limiting. The diagram may include more or fewer steps, and the steps may be performed in an order different from the order depicted in the diagram. It should be understood that the details of some of the operations in FIG18 have been described in detail in conjunction with FIG4 and will not be repeated here.

[0160] Figure 19 shows an information interaction diagram for a handover model parameter testing process in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The non-terrestrial network includes user equipment, a base station, a satellite (not shown), and an AMF. The base station can be the source base station in Figures 16 and 17, or it can be another base station in the non-terrestrial network. The handover model parameter testing process can verify the accuracy of the handover model parameters.

[0161] As shown in FIG19 , at 1902, the AMF may send a message including handover model parameters to the base station. This message may be similar to the message sent at 1804 in FIG18 .

[0162] At 1904, a second plurality of user equipment-initiated handovers may be performed. Note that a base station-initiated handover is not initiated at this point, but rather a user equipment-initiated handover is still used. The execution of the second plurality of handovers includes one or more interactions between the user equipment, the base station, the AMF, and other (one or more) base stations. At 1906, the base station may send handover data for the second plurality of handovers to the AMF. Step 1906 may also include one or more other base stations in the non-terrestrial network sending the handover data to the AMF.

[0163] At 1908, the AMF may compare the handover model parameters with the handover data of the second plurality of handovers. The AMF may compare the corresponding parameters in the two. If the corresponding parameters match (either identically or differing within a certain threshold (e.g., the handover time difference is within 5 seconds)), the AMF may determine that the handover model parameters match the handover data; otherwise, the AMF may determine that the handover model parameters do not match the handover data. If the proportion of matching handovers (i.e., the matching rate) exceeds a threshold (e.g., 70%, 80%, or 90%), the AMF may indicate that the accuracy of the handover model parameters is acceptable.

[0164] At 1910, the AMF may send a message to the base station indicating that a base station-initiated handover can be initiated. For example, the message may indicate the value of the matching ratio, or may indicate whether the matching ratio exceeds a threshold. Initiating base station-initiated handover after the expected accuracy is achieved can improve the success rate of handovers and reduce signaling overhead and communication latency. In some embodiments, 1504 of Figure 15 is performed by the source base station in response to receiving a message indicating that a base station-initiated handover can be initiated.

[0165] It should be noted that the information interaction diagram shown in Figure 19 is merely an example and is not intended to be limiting. The diagram may include more or fewer steps, and the steps may be performed in an order different from the order of the steps depicted in the diagram. It should be understood that the details of some of the operations in Figure 19 have been described in detail in conjunction with Figure 4 and will not be repeated here. In addition, the processes of Figures 16-19 can be applied to both switching based on the Xn interface and switching based on the N2 interface.

[0166] Figure 20 shows an information interaction diagram for a cell handover process in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The non-terrestrial network includes a user equipment (UE), a source base station, a target base station, a satellite (not shown), and an AMF. The handover process is a handover process based on the N2 interface, wherein the source base station and the target base station can exchange information through the N2 interface with the core network. It should be understood that although AMF is shown as an example of a network function in Figure 20, any other suitable network function can also be used. Some steps of Figure 20 are similar to those of Figure 15, and their description is omitted here.

[0167] As shown in Figure 20, at 2004, the source base station may determine to initiate a handover. At 2006, the source base station may send a handover request of type base station initiated to the AMF, where the type of the handover request is configured as base station initiated.

[0168] At 2008, the AMF may send a handover request message to the target base station, indicating that the handover type of the handover is base station initiated. At 2010, the target base station may send a confirmation message for the handover request to the AMF. At 2012, the AMF may send a handover command to the source base station, indicating that the handover type of the handover is base station initiated. At 2014, the source base station may send a handover command to the user equipment.

[0169] Similar to 1512, at 2016, the user equipment may perform signal measurement. The user equipment may measure the signal quality between it and the source base station and the signal quality between it and the target base station.

[0170] Similar to 1514, at 2018, the UE may perform a handover to the target base station. This may include multiple interactions between the UE, the source base station, and the target base station as described above, and may also include interactions with the AMF (e.g., the target base station sends a path switch request to the AMF), which is not repeated here.

[0171] It should be noted that the information interaction diagram shown in FIG20 is merely an example and is not intended to be limiting. The diagram may include more or fewer steps, and the steps may be performed in an order different from the order depicted in the diagram. It should be understood that the details of some of the operations in FIG20 have been described in detail in conjunction with FIG4 , FIG8 , and FIG14 , and will not be repeated here.

[0172] Figure 21 shows an information interaction diagram for a user equipment registration process in a non-terrestrial network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The non-terrestrial network includes a user equipment (UE), a base station, a satellite (not shown), and an AMF. It should be understood that although the AMF is shown as an example of a network function in Figure 20, any other suitable network function may also be used.

[0173] As shown in Figure 21, at 2102, the user equipment may send a registration request message to the base station. The registration request message includes a location type bit, which indicates whether the user equipment is a fixed-location user equipment or a mobile-location user equipment. When the location type bit indicates that the user equipment is a fixed-location user equipment, the registration request message may also include a field indicating the geographic location information of the user equipment. At 2104, the base station may send the registration request message to the AMF.

[0174] At 2106, the AMF may register the user equipment. At 2108, the AMF may send an acknowledgment of the registration request message to the base station. At 2110, the base station may send a registration accept message to the user equipment.

[0175] It should be noted that the information interaction diagram shown in FIG21 is merely an example and is not intended to be limiting. The diagram may include more or fewer steps, and the steps may be performed in a different order than that depicted in the diagram. It should be understood that the details of some of the operations in FIG21 have been described in detail in conjunction with FIG6 , FIG12 , and FIG12 , and will not be repeated here.

[0176] Figure 22 illustrates a schematic diagram of a cell handover process for a non-terrestrial network, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 22 , the cell handover process can generally include five phases: a UE-initiated handover data collection phase 2210, a handover model parameter learning phase 2220, a handover model parameter testing phase 2230, a base station-initiated handover execution phase 2240, and a handover model improvement phase 2250. The UE-initiated handover data collection phase 2210 may correspond to the process shown in Figure 17 , the handover model parameter learning phase 2220 may correspond to the process shown in Figure 18 , the handover model parameter testing phase 2230 may correspond to the process shown in Figure 19 , and the base station-initiated handover execution phase 2240 and the handover model improvement phase 2250 may correspond to the processes shown in Figures 15 , 16 , or 20 . The last two phases, base station-initiated handover execution phase 2240 and handover model improvement phase 2250, can be repeated to continuously improve the accuracy of the handover model and enhance handover efficiency.

[0177] Technical effects of the present disclosure

[0178] According to the method for cell handover in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) proposed in the present disclosure, the user equipment does not need to measure the cell signal quality and does not need to transmit related signaling when deciding to initiate a handover, thereby reducing overhead and saving energy consumption. The network function learns the handover model of a terminal with a fixed location. Once the handover model of the terminal is mastered, the handover can be initiated by the base station without the terminal performing cell signal quality measurements. The relevant data of the handover initiated by each base station is fed back to the learned model, thereby continuously improving the correctness of the handover model and enhancing handover efficiency. When the handover initiated by the base station fails, the handover returns to the handover initiated by the user equipment, ensuring the normal operation of the communication system.

[0179] The solution of the present disclosure can be implemented in the following exemplary manner.

[0180] Clause 1. An electronic device for a first base station in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a user equipment capable of communicating with the first base station, a second base station, a network function, and a satellite, the electronic device comprising processing circuitry configured to cause the first base station to:

[0181] determining, based on a message received from a network function, to initiate a first handover of the user equipment to a second base station at a first time;

[0182] Sending a handover request message to the second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated handover; and

[0183] In response to receiving a message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request, a handover command is sent to the user equipment, wherein the handover command instructs the user equipment to perform a first handover and indicates that the handover type of the first handover is base station initiated.

[0184] Clause 2. The electronic device of clause 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the first base station to:

[0185] receiving a measurement report from a user equipment, wherein the measurement report indicates that at least one of a signal quality between the user equipment and the first base station and a signal quality between the user equipment and the second base station does not satisfy a predefined condition;

[0186] Sending a message to the second base station instructing to stop the first handover;

[0187] A message is sent to the user equipment indicating that the first handover is stopped and the handover type is changed to a user equipment initiated type.

[0188] Clause 3. The electronic device of clause 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the first base station to:

[0189] After the first handover is completed, the handover data of the first handover is sent to the network function.

[0190] Clause 4. The electronic device of any of clauses 1-3, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the first base station to:

[0191] In response to receiving the message indicating that the second base station rejects the handover request, a message indicating that the handover type is changed to a user equipment initiated type is sent to the user equipment.

[0192] Clause 5. The electronic device of any of clauses 1-3, wherein sending the handover request message to the second base station comprises:

[0193] Send a handover request message directly to the second base station, or

[0194] A handover requirement is sent to the network function, wherein a type of the handover requirement is configured as a base station initiated type, and wherein the handover request message is sent by the network function to the second base station in response to receiving the handover requirement.

[0195] Clause 6. The electronic device of any of clauses 1-3, wherein the message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request is a confirmation message for the handover request received from the second base station or a handover command received from the network function.

[0196] Clause 7. An electronic device according to any of clauses 1-3, wherein the message received from the network function includes a handover model parameter, wherein the handover model parameter includes at least an identifier of the user equipment, a set of handover times including the first time, an identifier of the first base station, and an identifier of the second base station.

[0197] Clause 8. The electronic device of clause 7, wherein the user equipment is a fixed-location type user equipment, and the processing circuit is further configured to cause the first base station to perform the following operations:

[0198] Before the first handover, receiving a message from the network function instructing the first base station to collect handover data of a set of user equipments of a fixed location type including the user equipment;

[0199] performing a first plurality of user equipment initiated handovers with user equipments in the set of user equipments of the fixed location type;

[0200] sending handover data for the first plurality of handovers to a network function, wherein the first plurality of handovers occur before the first handover,

[0201] The handover model parameters are obtained by the network function based on the handover data of the first plurality of handovers.

[0202] Clause 9. The electronic device of clause 7, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the first base station to:

[0203] performing, after receiving the handover model parameters from the network function, a second plurality of user equipment initiated handovers with the user equipment;

[0204] sending handover data for the second plurality of handovers to the network function, wherein the second plurality of handovers occurs before the first handover;

[0205] A message is received from a network function indicating that a base station initiated handover can be started, wherein determining to initiate a first handover of the user equipment to a second base station at a first time is performed in response to at least receiving the message indicating that a base station initiated handover can be started.

[0206] Clause 10. An electronic device according to clause 8 or 9, wherein the switching data includes one or more of the following: an identifier of a user device associated with the switching, a time for initiating the switching determined by a source base station associated with the switching, a signal quality between the user device and the source base station reported by the user device based on which the source base station decides to initiate the switching and a signal quality between the user device and the target base station associated with the switching, an identifier of the source base station, an identifier of the target base station, an identifier of a satellite associated with the source base station, an identifier of a satellite associated with the target base station, and weather conditions.

[0207] Clause 11. The electronic device according to clause 8, wherein the handover model parameter is obtained by the network function through the following operations:

[0208] Training a machine learning model using the handover data of the first plurality of handovers as training data; and

[0209] The handover model parameters are generated by inputting an identifier of the user equipment into a trained machine learning model.

[0210] Clause 12. An electronic device for a base station in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising user equipment capable of communicating with the base station, a network function, and a satellite, the electronic device comprising processing circuitry configured to cause the base station to:

[0211] receiving a registration request message from a user equipment, wherein the registration request message includes a location type bit, and the location type bit indicates whether the user equipment is a fixed-location type user equipment or a mobile-location type user equipment;

[0212] sending the registration request message to the network function; and

[0213] Based on an acknowledgement of the registration request message received from the network function, a registration accept message is sent to the user equipment, wherein in response to the location type bit indicating that the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed-location type, the registration accept message includes information indicating that the handover type of the user equipment is configured as a base station initiated type.

[0214] Clause 13. The electronic device according to clause 12, wherein when the location type bit indicates that the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed location type, the registration request message further includes a field indicating geographic location information of the user equipment.

[0215] Clause 14. An electronic device for a user equipment in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a first base station capable of communicating with the user equipment, a second base station capable of communicating with the first base station, a network function, and a satellite, the electronic device comprising processing circuitry configured to cause the user equipment to:

[0216] receiving a handover command from the first base station, wherein the handover command instructs the user equipment to perform a first handover to the second base station and indicates that a handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated handover;

[0217] performing a signal quality measurement with the first base station and a signal quality measurement with the second base station within a predetermined time period;

[0218] In response to determining that signal quality between the user equipment and the first base station and signal quality between the user equipment and the second base station satisfy a predefined condition within a predetermined time period, a first handover is performed.

[0219] Clause 15. The electronic device of clause 14, wherein:

[0220] The first base station determines to initiate a first handover at a first time based on a message received from the network function;

[0221] The first base station sends a handover request message to the second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated type; and

[0222] The handover command is sent by the first base station to the user equipment in response to receiving a message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request.

[0223] Clause 16. The electronic device of clause 14 or 15, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the user equipment to perform the following operations:

[0224] In response to determining that at least one of a signal quality between the user equipment and the first base station and a signal quality between the user equipment and the second base station does not satisfy a predefined condition within a predetermined time period:

[0225] Sending a measurement report to the first base station;

[0226] receiving a message from the first base station indicating that the first handover is stopped and the handover type is changed to a user equipment initiated type; and

[0227] Signal quality measurements are performed with the first base station and with one or more base stations including the second base station.

[0228] Clause 17. The electronic device of clause 15, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the user equipment to:

[0229] A message indicating that the handover type is changed to a user equipment initiated type is received from the first base station, where the message is sent by the first base station to the user equipment in response to receiving a message indicating that the second base station rejects the handover request.

[0230] Clause 18. The electronic device of clause 15, wherein the first base station sending the handover request message to the second base station comprises:

[0231] The first base station directly sends a handover request message to the second base station, or

[0232] The first base station sends a handover requirement to the network function, wherein a type of the handover requirement is configured as base station initiated, and wherein the handover request message is sent by the network function to the second base station in response to receiving the handover requirement.

[0233] Clause 19. The electronic device of clause 15, wherein the message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request is an acknowledgement message for the handover request received by the first base station from the second base station or a handover command received by the first base station from the network function.

[0234] Clause 20. An electronic device according to clause 15, wherein the message received by the first base station from the network function includes a handover model parameter, wherein the handover model parameter includes at least an identifier of the user equipment, a set of handover times including the first time, an identifier of the first base station, and an identifier of the second base station.

[0235] Clause 21. The electronic device of clause 20, wherein the user equipment is a fixed-location type user equipment, and wherein:

[0236] Before the first handover, the first base station receives a message from a network function instructing the first base station to collect handover data of a set of user equipments of a fixed-location type including the user equipment;

[0237] The first base station performs a first plurality of user equipment initiated handovers with user equipment in a set of user equipments of a fixed location type;

[0238] The first base station sends handover data for the first plurality of handovers to a network function, wherein the first plurality of handovers occur before the first handover; and

[0239] The handover model parameters are obtained by the network function based on the handover data of the first plurality of handovers.

[0240] Clause 22. The electronic device of clause 20, wherein:

[0241] After receiving the handover model parameter from the network function, the first base station performs a second plurality of user equipment initiated handovers with the user equipment;

[0242] The first base station sends handover data for the second plurality of handovers to the network function, wherein the second plurality of handovers occur before the first handover;

[0243] The first base station receives a message from a network function indicating that a base station initiated handover can be started, wherein determining to initiate a first handover of the user equipment to the second base station at a first time is performed at least in response to receiving the message indicating that a base station initiated handover can be started.

[0244] Clause 23. An electronic device according to clause 21 or 22, wherein the switching data includes one or more of the following: an identifier of the user equipment associated with the switching, the time for initiating the switching determined by the source base station associated with the switching, the signal quality between the user equipment and the source base station reported by the user equipment based on which the source base station decides to initiate the switching and the signal quality between the user equipment and the target base station associated with the switching, an identifier of the source base station, an identifier of the target base station, an identifier of the satellite associated with the source base station, an identifier of the satellite associated with the target base station, and weather conditions.

[0245] Clause 24. The electronic device according to clause 21, wherein the handover model parameter is obtained by the network function through the following operations:

[0246] Training a machine learning model using the handover data of the first plurality of handovers as training data; and

[0247] The handover model parameters are generated by inputting an identifier of the user equipment into a trained machine learning model.

[0248] Clause 25. An electronic device for a user equipment in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a base station, a network function, and a satellite capable of communicating with the user equipment, the electronic device comprising processing circuitry configured to cause the user equipment to:

[0249] Sending a registration request message to a base station, wherein the registration request message includes a location type bit, and the location type bit indicates whether the user equipment is a fixed-location type user equipment or a mobile-location type user equipment; and

[0250] A registration accept message is received from the base station, wherein in response to the location type bit indicating that the user equipment is a location-fixed type user equipment, the registration accept message includes information indicating that the handover type of the user equipment is configured as a base station initiated type.

[0251] Clause 26. The electronic device according to clause 25, wherein when the location type bit indicates that the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed location type, the registration request message further includes a field indicating geographic location information of the user equipment.

[0252] Clause 27. An electronic device for a network function in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a user equipment capable of communicating with the network function, a first base station, a second base station, and a satellite, the electronic device comprising processing circuitry configured to cause the network function to:

[0253] sending a message to the first base station, wherein the message includes an instruction to initiate a first handover of the user equipment to the second base station at a first time,

[0254] The first base station sends a handover request message to the second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated handover, and

[0255] In response to receiving a message instructing the second base station to accept the handover request, the first base station sends a handover command to the user equipment, wherein the handover command instructs the user equipment to perform a first handover and indicates that the handover type of the first handover is base station initiated.

[0256] Clause 28. The electronic device of clause 27, wherein:

[0257] The first base station receives a measurement report from the user equipment, wherein the measurement report indicates that at least one of a signal quality between the user equipment and the first base station and a signal quality between the user equipment and the second base station does not meet a predefined condition;

[0258] The first base station sends a message to the second base station instructing to stop the first handover; and

[0259] The first base station sends a message to the user equipment instructing to stop the first handover and change the handover type to a user equipment initiated type.

[0260] Clause 29. An electronic device according to clause 27, wherein the message sent to the first base station includes a switching model parameter, wherein the switching model parameter includes at least an identifier of the user equipment, a set of switching times including the first time, an identifier of the first base station, and an identifier of the second base station.

[0261] Clause 30. The electronic device of clause 29, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the network function to:

[0262] receiving handover data for a first handover from the first base station; and

[0263] New handover model parameters are generated based on at least the handover data of the first handover.

[0264] Clause 31. An electronic device according to any one of clauses 27-29, wherein:

[0265] In response to receiving the message instructing the second base station to reject the handover request, the first base station sends a message to the user equipment indicating that the handover type is changed to a user equipment initiated type.

[0266] Clause 32. The electronic device of any of clauses 27-30, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the network function to:

[0267] receiving a handover request from the first base station, wherein a type of the handover request is configured as a base station initiated type; and

[0268] Send the handover request message to the second base station.

[0269] Clause 33. The electronic device of clause 32, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the network function to:

[0270] receiving an acknowledgement message for the handover request from the second base station; and

[0271] The handover command is sent to the first base station.

[0272] Clause 34. The electronic device of clause 29, wherein the user equipment is a fixed-location type user equipment, and the processing circuit is further configured to cause the network function to perform the following operations:

[0273] Before the first handover, sending a message to the first base station instructing the first base station to collect handover data of a set of user equipments of a fixed location type including the user equipment;

[0274] receiving handover data of a first plurality of handovers of a user equipment initiated type from a first base station, wherein the first plurality of handovers are performed by the first base station with user equipments in a set of user equipments of a fixed location type and occur before the first handover; and

[0275] The handover model parameters are obtained based on the handover data of the first plurality of handovers.

[0276] Clause 35. The electronic device of clause 29, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the network function to:

[0277] After sending the handover model parameters to the first base station, receiving handover data for a second plurality of handovers of user equipment initiated type from the first base station, wherein the second plurality of handovers occur before the first handover;

[0278] comparing the handoff data for the second plurality of handoffs to the handoff model parameters; and

[0279] In response to determining that the proportion of switches in the second plurality of switches whose switching data matches the switching model parameters exceeds a threshold, a message is sent to the first base station indicating that base station-initiated switching can be started, wherein the first base station sends a switching request message to the second base station at least in response to receiving the message indicating that base station-initiated switching can be started.

[0280] Clause 36. An electronic device according to clause 34 or 35, wherein the switching data includes one or more of the following: an identifier of the user equipment associated with the switching, the time for initiating the switching determined by the source base station associated with the switching, the signal quality between the user equipment and the source base station reported by the user equipment based on which the source base station decides to initiate the switching and the signal quality between the user equipment and the target base station associated with the switching, an identifier of the source base station, an identifier of the target base station, an identifier of the satellite associated with the source base station, an identifier of the satellite associated with the target base station, and weather conditions.

[0281] Clause 37. The electronic device of clause 34, wherein to obtain the handover model parameter, the processing circuit is further configured to cause the network function to perform the following operations:

[0282] Training a machine learning model using the handover data of the first plurality of handovers as training data; and

[0283] The handover model parameters are generated by inputting an identifier of the user equipment into a trained machine learning model.

[0284] Clause 38. An electronic device for a network function in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a user equipment capable of communicating with the base station, a base station, and a satellite, the electronic device comprising processing circuitry configured to cause the network function to:

[0285] receiving a registration request message of a user equipment from a base station, wherein the registration request message includes a location type bit, and the location type bit indicates whether the user equipment is a fixed-location type user equipment or a mobile-location type user equipment;

[0286] Registering the user equipment based on the registration request message; and

[0287] Sending a confirmation of the registration request message to the base station, wherein in response to the location type bit indicating that the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed-location type, the base station sends a registration accept message to the user equipment, wherein the registration accept message includes information indicating that the handover type of the user equipment is configured as a base station initiated type.

[0288] Clause 39. An electronic device according to Clause 38, wherein when the location type bit indicates that the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed-location type, the registration request message also includes a field indicating the geographic location information of the user equipment, and registering the user equipment based on the registration request message also includes registering the geographic location information of the user equipment.

[0289] Clause 40. An electronic device for a second base station in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising user equipment capable of communicating with the second base station, a first base station, a network function, and a satellite, the electronic device comprising processing circuitry configured to cause the second base station to:

[0290] receiving a handover request message from the first base station for a first handover of the user equipment to the second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that a handover type of the first handover is base station initiated and the first handover is determined by the first base station to be initiated at a first time based on a message received from a network function; and

[0291] In response to determining that the resources meet the first handover requirement, a message is sent to the first base station instructing the second base station to accept the handover request.

[0292] Clause 41. The electronic device of clause 40, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the second base station to:

[0293] receiving a message from the first base station instructing to stop the first handover; and

[0294] The resources prepared for the first handover are released.

[0295] Clause 42. An electronic device according to clause 40,

[0296] The first base station sends a handover command to the user equipment in response to receiving a message instructing the second base station to accept the handover request, wherein the handover command instructs the user equipment to perform a first handover and indicates that the handover type of the first handover is base station initiated.

[0297] Clause 43. The electronic device of clause 40, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the second base station to:

[0298] In response to determining that the resources do not meet the first handover requirement, sending a message to the first base station instructing the second base station to reject the handover request,

[0299] In response to receiving the message instructing the second base station to reject the handover request, the first base station sends a message to the user equipment instructing the handover type to be changed to the user equipment initiated type.

[0300] Clause 44. The electronic device of any of clauses 40-42, wherein receiving the handover request message from the first base station comprises:

[0301] directly receiving a handover request message from the first base station, or

[0302] A handover request message is received from the network function, wherein the handover request message is sent by the network function to the second base station in response to receiving a handover requirement sent by the first base station.

[0303] Clause 45. The electronic device of any of clauses 40-42, wherein sending a message to the first base station indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request comprises:

[0304] Send a confirmation message for the handover request directly to the first base station, or

[0305] An acknowledgement message for the handover request is sent to a network function, wherein the network function sends a handover command to the first base station in response to receiving the acknowledgement message for the handover request from the second base station.

[0306] Clause 46. An electronic device according to any of clauses 40-42, wherein the message received by the first base station from the network function includes a switching model parameter, wherein the switching model parameter includes at least an identifier of the user equipment, a set of switching times including the first time, an identifier of the first base station, and an identifier of the second base station.

[0307] Clause 47. The electronic device of clause 46, wherein the user equipment is a fixed-location type user equipment, and wherein:

[0308] Before the first handover, the first base station receives a message from the network function instructing the first base station to collect handover data of a set of user equipments of a fixed-location type including the user equipment;

[0309] The first base station performs a first plurality of user equipment initiated handovers with user equipment in the set of user equipments of the fixed position type;

[0310] the first base station sending handover data for the first plurality of handovers to the network function, wherein the first plurality of handovers occur before the first handover,

[0311] The handover model parameters are obtained by the network function based on the handover data of the first plurality of handovers.

[0312] Clause 48. The electronic device of clause 46, wherein:

[0313] After receiving the handover model parameter from the network function, the first base station performs a second plurality of user equipment initiated handovers with the user equipment;

[0314] the first base station sending handover data for the second plurality of handovers to the network function, wherein the second plurality of handovers occur before the first handover;

[0315] The first base station receives a message from a network function indicating that a base station initiated handover can be started, wherein the first base station determines to initiate a first handover at a first time in response to at least receiving the message indicating that a base station initiated handover can be started.

[0316] Clause 49. An electronic device according to clause 47 or 48, wherein the switching data includes one or more of the following: an identifier of the user equipment associated with the switching, the time for initiating the switching determined by the source base station associated with the switching, the signal quality between the user equipment and the source base station reported by the user equipment based on which the source base station decides to initiate the switching and the signal quality between the user equipment and the target base station associated with the switching, an identifier of the source base station, an identifier of the target base station, an identifier of the satellite associated with the source base station, an identifier of the satellite associated with the target base station, and weather conditions.

[0317] Clause 50. The electronic device of clause 47, wherein the handover model parameter is obtained by the network function through the following operations:

[0318] Training a machine learning model using the handover data of the first plurality of handovers as training data; and

[0319] The handover model parameters are generated by inputting an identifier of the user equipment into a trained machine learning model.

[0320] Clause 51. A method for a first base station in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a user equipment capable of communicating with the first base station, a second base station, a network function, and a satellite, the method comprising:

[0321] determining, based on a message received from a network function, to initiate a first handover of the user equipment to a second base station at a first time;

[0322] Sending a handover request message to the second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated handover; and

[0323] In response to receiving a message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request, a handover command is sent to the user equipment, wherein the handover command instructs the user equipment to perform a first handover and indicates that the handover type of the first handover is base station initiated.

[0324] Clause 52. A method for a base station in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising user equipment capable of communicating with the base station, a network function, and a satellite, the method comprising:

[0325] receiving a registration request message from a user equipment, wherein the registration request message includes a location type bit, and the location type bit indicates whether the user equipment is a fixed-location type user equipment or a mobile-location type user equipment;

[0326] sending the registration request message to the network function; and

[0327] Based on an acknowledgement of the registration request message received from the network function, a registration accept message is sent to the user equipment, wherein in response to the location type bit indicating that the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed-location type, the registration accept message includes information indicating that the handover type of the user equipment is configured as a base station initiated type.

[0328] Clause 53. A method for a user equipment in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a first base station capable of communicating with the user equipment, a second base station capable of communicating with the first base station, a network function, and a satellite, the method comprising:

[0329] receiving a handover command from the first base station, wherein the handover command instructs the user equipment to perform a first handover to the second base station and indicates that a handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated handover;

[0330] performing a signal quality measurement with the first base station and a signal quality measurement with the second base station within a predetermined time period;

[0331] In response to determining that signal quality between the user equipment and the first base station and signal quality between the user equipment and the second base station satisfy a predefined condition within a predetermined time period, a first handover is performed.

[0332] Clause 54. A method for a user equipment in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a base station, a network function, and a satellite capable of communicating with the user equipment, the method comprising:

[0333] Sending a registration request message to a base station, wherein the registration request message includes a location type bit, and the location type bit indicates whether the user equipment is a fixed-location type user equipment or a mobile-location type user equipment; and

[0334] A registration accept message is received from the base station, wherein in response to the location type bit indicating that the user equipment is a location-fixed type user equipment, the registration accept message includes information indicating that the handover type of the user equipment is configured as a base station initiated type.

[0335] Clause 55. A method for a network function in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a user equipment capable of communicating with the network function, a first base station, a second base station, and a satellite, the method comprising:

[0336] sending a message to the first base station, wherein the message includes an instruction to initiate a first handover of the user equipment to the second base station at a first time,

[0337] The first base station sends a handover request message to the second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated handover, and

[0338] In response to receiving a message instructing the second base station to accept the handover request, the first base station sends a handover command to the user equipment, wherein the handover command instructs the user equipment to perform a first handover and indicates that the handover type of the first handover is base station initiated.

[0339] Clause 56. A method for a network function in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a user equipment capable of communicating with the base station, a base station, and a satellite, the method comprising:

[0340] receiving a registration request message of a user equipment from a base station, wherein the registration request message includes a location type bit, and the location type bit indicates whether the user equipment is a fixed-location type user equipment or a mobile-location type user equipment;

[0341] Registering the user equipment based on the registration request message; and

[0342] Sending a confirmation of the registration request message to the base station, wherein in response to the location type bit indicating that the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed-location type, the base station sends a registration accept message to the user equipment, wherein the registration accept message includes information indicating that the handover type of the user equipment is configured as a base station initiated type.

[0343] Clause 57. A method for a second base station in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a user equipment capable of communicating with the second base station, a first base station, a network function, and a satellite, the method comprising:

[0344] receiving a handover request message from the first base station for a first handover of the user equipment to the second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that a handover type of the first handover is base station initiated and the first handover is determined by the first base station to be initiated at a first time based on a message received from a network function; and

[0345] In response to determining that the resources meet the first handover requirement, a message is sent to the first base station instructing the second base station to accept the handover request.

[0346] Clause 58. A computer-readable storage medium having one or more instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the method of any of clauses 51-57.

[0347] Clause 59. A computer program product comprising program instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any of clauses 51-57.

[0348] It should be noted that the above application examples are merely illustrative. The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented in any other appropriate manner in the above application examples, while still achieving the advantageous effects obtained by the embodiments of the present disclosure. Moreover, the embodiments of the present disclosure may also be applied to other similar application examples, while still achieving the advantageous effects obtained by the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0349] It should be understood that the machine-executable instructions in the machine-readable storage medium or program product according to the embodiments of the present disclosure can be configured to perform operations corresponding to the above-mentioned device and method embodiments. When referring to the above-mentioned device and method embodiments, the embodiments of the machine-readable storage medium or program product are clear to those skilled in the art and are therefore not described again. Machine-readable storage media and program products for carrying or including the above-mentioned machine-executable instructions also fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Such storage media may include, but are not limited to, floppy disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, memory cards, memory sticks, and the like.

[0350] In addition, it should be understood that the above series of processes and devices can also be implemented by software and / or firmware. In the case of implementation by software and / or firmware, the program constituting the software is installed from a storage medium or a network to a computer with a dedicated hardware structure, such as a general-purpose personal computer 2300 shown in Figure 23. When various programs are installed, the computer can perform various functions, etc. Figure 23 is a block diagram showing an example structure of a personal computer as an information processing device that can be used in an embodiment of the present disclosure. In one example, the personal computer can correspond to the above-mentioned exemplary terminal device according to the present disclosure.

[0351] 23 , a central processing unit (CPU) 2301 executes various processes according to a program stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 2302 or a program loaded from a storage section 2308 to a random access memory (RAM) 2303. In the RAM 2303, data required when the CPU 2301 executes various processes and the like is also stored as needed.

[0352] The CPU 2301, the ROM 2302, and the RAM 2303 are connected to one another via a bus 2304. An input / output interface 2305 is also connected to the bus 2304.

[0353] The following components are connected to the input / output interface 2305: an input section 2306 including a keyboard, a mouse, etc.; an output section 2307 including a display such as a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), etc., and a speaker, etc.; a storage section 2308 including a hard disk, etc.; and a communication section 2309 including a network interface card such as a LAN card, a modem, etc. The communication section 2309 performs communication processing via a network such as the Internet.

[0354] A drive 2310 is also connected to the input / output interface 2305 as needed. A removable medium 2311 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, etc. is mounted on the drive 2310 as needed so that a computer program read therefrom is installed in the storage portion 2308 as needed.

[0355] In the case of realizing the above-described series of processing by software, a program constituting the software is installed from a network such as the Internet or a storage medium such as the removable medium 2311 .

[0356] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that such storage media are not limited to the removable medium 2311 shown in FIG. 23 , which stores programs and is distributed separately from the device to provide the programs to users. Examples of the removable medium 2311 include magnetic disks (including floppy disks (registered trademark)), optical disks (including compact disk read-only memories (CD-ROMs) and digital versatile disks (DVDs)), magneto-optical disks (including minidiscs (MDs) (registered trademark)), and semiconductor memories. Alternatively, the storage medium may be a ROM 2302, a hard disk included in the storage portion 2308, or the like, in which the programs are stored and distributed to users together with the device containing them.

[0357] The technology disclosed herein can be applied to various products.

[0358] For example, the electronic devices 300 and 500 according to the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented as various base stations or included in various base stations, and the methods shown in Figures 4 and 6 may also be implemented by various base stations. For example, the electronic devices 700 and 1000 according to the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented as various user equipment / terminal devices or included in various user equipment / terminal devices, and the methods shown in Figures 8 and 10 may also be implemented by various user equipment / terminal devices.

[0359] For example, the network devices / base stations mentioned in this disclosure may be implemented as any type of base station, such as an evolved NodeB (gNB). A gNB may include one or more transmit and receive points (TRPs). A user device may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs. For example, a user device may be able to receive transmissions from multiple gNBs (and / or multiple TRPs provided by the same gNB). For example, a gNB may include a macro gNB and a small gNB. A small gNB may be a gNB that covers a cell smaller than a macro cell, such as a pico gNB, a micro gNB, and a home (femto) gNB. Alternatively, a base station may be implemented as any other type of base station, such as a NodeB and a base transceiver station (BTS). A base station may include: a main body (also referred to as a base station device) configured to control wireless communications; and one or more remote radio heads (RRHs) located at a location separate from the main body. In addition, the various types of terminals described below may each function as a base station by temporarily or semi-permanently performing base station functions.

[0360] For example, the user equipment mentioned in the present disclosure is also referred to as a terminal device in some examples, and can be implemented as a mobile terminal (such as a smart phone, a tablet personal computer (PC), a notebook PC, a portable game terminal, a portable / dongle-type mobile router, and a digital camera) or a vehicle-mounted terminal (such as a car navigation device). The user equipment can also be implemented as a terminal that performs machine-to-machine (M2M) communication (also referred to as a machine type communication (MTC) terminal). In addition, the user equipment can be a wireless communication module (such as an integrated circuit module including a single chip) installed on each of the above-mentioned terminals. In some cases, the user equipment can use multiple wireless communication technologies for communication. For example, the user equipment can be configured to communicate using two or more of GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, WiMAX, LTE, LTE-A, WLAN, NR, Bluetooth, etc. In some cases, the user equipment can also be configured to communicate using only one wireless communication technology.

[0361] Base station example

[0362] It should be understood that the term "base station" in the present disclosure has the full breadth of its usual meaning and at least includes a wireless communication station used as part of a wireless communication system or radio system to facilitate communication. Examples of base stations may include, but are not limited to, the following: a base station may be one or both of a base transceiver station (BTS) and a base station controller (BSC) in a GSM system, one or both of a radio network controller (RNC) and a Node B in a WCDMA system, an eNB in ​​an LTE and LTE-Advanced system, or a corresponding network node in a future communication system (such as a gNB, eLTE eNB, etc. that may appear in a 5G communication system). Some of the functions in the base station of the present disclosure may also be implemented as an entity that has a control function for communication in D2D, M2M, and V2V communication scenarios, or as an entity that plays a spectrum coordination role in a cognitive radio communication scenario.

[0363] First example

[0364] Figure 24 is a block diagram illustrating a first example of a schematic configuration of a base station (gNB is used as an example in this figure) to which the techniques of this disclosure can be applied. gNB 2400 includes multiple antennas 2410 and base station equipment 2420. Base station equipment 2420 and each antenna 2410 can be connected to each other via an RF cable. In one implementation, gNB 2400 (or base station equipment 2420) herein may correspond to the aforementioned network device (or more specifically, electronic device 400).

[0365] Each antenna 2410 includes a single or multiple antenna elements (such as multiple antenna elements included in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna) and is used for base station device 2420 to transmit and receive wireless signals. As shown in Figure 24, gNB 2400 may include multiple antennas 2410. For example, multiple antennas 2410 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by gNB 2400.

[0366] The base station device 2420 includes a controller 2421 , a memory 2422 , a network interface 2423 , and a wireless communication interface 2425 .

[0367] The controller 2421 may be, for example, a CPU or a DSP, and operates various higher-layer functions of the base station device 2420. For example, the controller 2421 generates data packets based on the data in the signal processed by the wireless communication interface 2425 and transmits the generated packets via the network interface 2423. The controller 2421 may bundle data from multiple baseband processors to generate bundled packets and transmit the generated bundled packets. The controller 2421 may have logic functions for performing the following controls: such as radio resource control, radio bearer control, mobility management, admission control, and scheduling. This control may be performed in conjunction with a nearby gNB or core network node. The memory 2422 includes RAM and ROM and stores programs executed by the controller 2421 and various types of control data (such as terminal lists, transmission power data, and scheduling data).

[0368] The network interface 2423 is a communication interface for connecting the base station device 2420 to the core network 2424. The controller 2421 can communicate with the core network node or another gNB via the network interface 2423. In this case, the gNB 2400 and the core network node or other gNB can be connected to each other via a logical interface (such as an S1 interface and an X2 interface). The network interface 2423 can also be a wired communication interface or a wireless communication interface for wireless backhaul. If the network interface 2423 is a wireless communication interface, the network interface 2423 can use a higher frequency band for wireless communication than the frequency band used by the wireless communication interface 2425.

[0369] The wireless communication interface 2425 supports any cellular communication scheme, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced, and provides wireless connectivity to terminals located in the gNB 2400 cell via the antenna 2410. The wireless communication interface 2425 may typically include, for example, a baseband (BB) processor 2426 and RF circuitry 2427. The BB processor 2426 can perform various signal processing functions, such as encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation, and multiplexing / demultiplexing, and performs various signal processing for layers such as Layer 1 (L1), Medium Access Control (MAC), Radio Link Control (RLC), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP). In place of the controller 2421, the BB processor 2426 may perform some or all of the aforementioned logical functions. The BB processor 2426 may be a memory storing communication control programs, or a module including a processor configured to execute programs and associated circuitry. Program updates can modify the functionality of the BB processor 2426. This module may be a card or blade inserted into a slot in the base station device 2420. Alternatively, it may be a chip mounted on the card or blade. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 2427 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmits and receives wireless signals via the antenna 2410. Although FIG24 shows an example in which one RF circuit 2427 is connected to one antenna 2410, the present disclosure is not limited to this illustration, and one RF circuit 2427 may be connected to multiple antennas 2410 at the same time.

[0370] As shown in Figure 24 , the wireless communication interface 2425 may include multiple BB processors 2426. For example, multiple BB processors 2426 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by the gNB 2400. As shown in Figure 24 , the wireless communication interface 2425 may include multiple RF circuits 2427. For example, multiple RF circuits 2427 may be compatible with multiple antenna elements. While Figure 24 illustrates an example in which the wireless communication interface 2425 includes multiple BB processors 2426 and multiple RF circuits 2427, the wireless communication interface 2425 may also include a single BB processor 2426 or a single RF circuit 2427.

[0371] Second example

[0372] FIG25 is a block diagram illustrating a second example of a schematic configuration of a base station (gNB is used as an example in this figure) to which the techniques of the present disclosure can be applied. The gNB 2530 includes multiple antennas 2540, a base station device 2550, and an RRH 2560. The RRH 2560 and each antenna 2540 can be connected to each other via an RF cable. The base station device 2550 and the RRH 2560 can be connected to each other via a high-speed line such as an optical fiber cable. In one implementation, the gNB 2530 (or base station device 2550) herein may correspond to the aforementioned base station (or more specifically, the electronic device 300 or 500).

[0373] Each of the antennas 2540 includes a single or multiple antenna elements (such as multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and is used for transmitting and receiving wireless signals by the RRH 2560. As shown in FIG25 , the gNB 2530 may include multiple antennas 2540. For example, the multiple antennas 2540 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by the gNB 2530.

[0374] Base station device 2550 includes a controller 2551, a memory 2552, a network interface 2553, a wireless communication interface 2555, and a connection interface 2557. Controller 2551, memory 2552, and network interface 2553 are the same as controller 2421, memory 2422, and network interface 2423 described with reference to FIG.

[0375] The wireless communication interface 2555 supports any cellular communication scheme (such as LTE and LTE-Advanced) and provides wireless communication to terminals located in the sector corresponding to the RRH 2560 via the RRH 2560 and the antenna 2540. The wireless communication interface 2555 may generally include, for example, a BB processor 2556. The BB processor 2556 is identical to the BB processor 2426 described with reference to FIG. 24 , except that the BB processor 2556 is connected to the RF circuit 2564 of the RRH 2560 via the connection interface 2557. As shown in FIG. 25 , the wireless communication interface 2555 may include multiple BB processors 2556. For example, multiple BB processors 2556 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by the gNB 2530. Although FIG. 25 illustrates an example in which the wireless communication interface 2555 includes multiple BB processors 2556, the wireless communication interface 2555 may also include a single BB processor 2556.

[0376] The connection interface 2557 is an interface for connecting the base station device 2550 (wireless communication interface 2555) to the RRH 2560. The connection interface 2557 may also be a communication module for connecting the base station device 2550 (wireless communication interface 2555) to the RRH 2560 for communication in the high-speed line.

[0377] The RRH 2560 includes a connection interface 2561 and a wireless communication interface 2563 .

[0378] The connection interface 2561 is an interface for connecting the RRH 2560 (wireless communication interface 2563) to the base station device 2550. The connection interface 2561 may also be a communication module for communication in the above-mentioned high-speed line.

[0379] The wireless communication interface 2563 transmits and receives wireless signals via the antenna 2540. The wireless communication interface 2563 may generally include, for example, an RF circuit 2564. The RF circuit 2564 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmits and receives wireless signals via the antenna 2540. Although FIG. 25 shows an example in which one RF circuit 2564 is connected to one antenna 2540, the present disclosure is not limited to this illustration, and one RF circuit 2564 may be connected to multiple antennas 2540 simultaneously.

[0380] As shown in FIG25 , the wireless communication interface 2563 may include multiple RF circuits 2564. For example, multiple RF circuits 2564 may support multiple antenna elements. Although FIG25 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 2563 includes multiple RF circuits 2564, the wireless communication interface 2563 may also include a single RF circuit 2564.

[0381] Example of a user device

[0382] First example

[0383] 26 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a smartphone 2600 to which the techniques of the present disclosure may be applied. The smartphone 2600 includes a processor 2601, a memory 2602, a storage device 2603, an external connection interface 2604, a camera 2606, a sensor 2607, a microphone 2608, an input device 2609, a display device 2610, a speaker 2623, a wireless communication interface 2624, one or more antenna switches 2627, one or more antennas 2616, a bus 2617, a battery 2618, and an auxiliary controller 2619. In one implementation, the smartphone 2600 (or processor 2601) herein may correspond to the aforementioned user device (or more specifically, the electronic device 700 or 900).

[0384] The processor 2601 may be, for example, a CPU or a system on a chip (SoC), and controls the functions of the application layer and other layers of the smartphone 2600. The memory 2602 includes RAM and ROM, and stores data and programs executed by the processor 2601. The storage device 2603 may include storage media such as semiconductor memories and hard disks. The external connection interface 2604 is an interface for connecting external devices (such as memory cards and universal serial bus (USB) devices) to the smartphone 2600.

[0385] The camera 2606 includes an image sensor (such as a charge coupled device (CCD) and a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)) and generates a captured image. The sensor 2607 may include a group of sensors such as a measurement sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and an acceleration sensor. The microphone 2608 converts the sound input to the smart phone 2600 into an audio signal. The input device 2609 includes, for example, a touch sensor, a keypad, a keyboard, a button, or a switch configured to detect a touch on the screen of the display device 2610, and receives an operation or information input from the user. The display device 2610 includes a screen (such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display) and displays the output image of the smart phone 2600. The speaker 2623 converts the audio signal output from the smart phone 2600 into sound.

[0386] The wireless communication interface 2624 supports any cellular communication scheme (such as LTE and LTE-Advanced) and performs wireless communication. The wireless communication interface 2624 may generally include, for example, a BB processor 2625 and an RF circuit 2614. The BB processor 2625 may perform, for example, encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation, and multiplexing / demultiplexing, and perform various types of signal processing for wireless communication. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 2614 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmit and receive wireless signals via an antenna 2616. The wireless communication interface 2624 may be a chip module on which the BB processor 2625 and the RF circuit 2614 are integrated. As shown in Figure 26, the wireless communication interface 2624 may include multiple BB processors 2625 and multiple RF circuits 2614. Although Figure 26 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 2624 includes multiple BB processors 2625 and multiple RF circuits 2614, the wireless communication interface 2624 may also include a single BB processor 2625 or a single RF circuit 2614.

[0387] In addition, in addition to the cellular communication scheme, the wireless communication interface 2624 can support other types of wireless communication schemes, such as a short-range wireless communication scheme, a near field communication scheme, and a wireless local area network (LAN) scheme. In this case, the wireless communication interface 2624 can include a BB processor 2625 and an RF circuit 2614 for each wireless communication scheme.

[0388] Each of the antenna switches 2627 switches the connection destination of the antenna 2616 between a plurality of circuits (eg, circuits for different wireless communication schemes) included in the wireless communication interface 2624 .

[0389] Each of the antennas 2616 includes a single or multiple antenna elements (such as multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and is used for transmitting and receiving wireless signals via the wireless communication interface 2624. As shown in FIG26 , the smartphone 2600 may include multiple antennas 2616. Although FIG26 shows an example in which the smartphone 2600 includes multiple antennas 2616, the smartphone 2600 may also include a single antenna 2616.

[0390] In addition, the smartphone 2600 may include an antenna 2616 for each wireless communication scheme. In this case, the antenna switch 2627 may be omitted from the configuration of the smartphone 2600.

[0391] The bus 2617 connects the processor 2601, the memory 2602, the storage device 2603, the external connection interface 2604, the camera 2606, the sensor 2607, the microphone 2608, the input device 2609, the display device 2610, the speaker 2623, the wireless communication interface 2624, and the auxiliary controller 2619. The battery 2618 supplies power to the various blocks of the smartphone 2600 shown in FIG26 via feeders, which are partially shown as dashed lines in the figure. The auxiliary controller 2619 operates the minimum necessary functions of the smartphone 2600, for example, in sleep mode.

[0392] Second example

[0393] 27 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a car navigation device 2720 to which the techniques of the present disclosure may be applied. The car navigation device 2720 includes a processor 2721, a memory 2722, a global positioning system (GPS) module 2724, a sensor 2725, a data interface 2726, a content player 2727, a storage medium interface 2728, an input device 2729, a display device 2730, a speaker 2731, a wireless communication interface 2733, one or more antenna switches 2736, one or more antennas 2737, and a battery 2738. In one implementation, the car navigation device 2720 (or processor 2721) herein may correspond to the user device (or more specifically, the electronic device 300) described above.

[0394] The processor 2721 may be, for example, a CPU or an SoC, and controls a navigation function and other functions of the car navigation device 2720. The memory 2722 includes a RAM and a ROM, and stores data and programs executed by the processor 2721.

[0395] The GPS module 2724 uses GPS signals received from GPS satellites to measure the position (such as latitude, longitude, and altitude) of the car navigation device 2720. The sensor 2725 may include a group of sensors such as a gyroscope sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and an air pressure sensor. The data interface 2726 is connected to, for example, the vehicle network 2741 via a terminal not shown, and acquires data generated by the vehicle (such as vehicle speed data).

[0396] The content player 2727 reproduces content stored in a storage medium (such as a CD or DVD) inserted into the storage medium interface 2728. The input device 2729 includes, for example, a touch sensor, button, or switch configured to detect a touch on the screen of the display device 2730, and receives operations or information input from the user. The display device 2730 includes a screen such as an LCD or OLED display and displays images of the navigation function or reproduced content. The speaker 2731 outputs sounds of the navigation function or reproduced content.

[0397] The wireless communication interface 2733 supports any cellular communication scheme (such as LTE and LTE-Advanced) and performs wireless communication. The wireless communication interface 2733 may generally include, for example, a BB processor 2734 and an RF circuit 2735. The BB processor 2734 may perform, for example, encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation, and multiplexing / demultiplexing, and perform various types of signal processing for wireless communication. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 2735 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmit and receive wireless signals via an antenna 2737. The wireless communication interface 2733 may also be a chip module on which the BB processor 2734 and the RF circuit 2735 are integrated. As shown in Figure 27, the wireless communication interface 2733 may include multiple BB processors 2734 and multiple RF circuits 2735. Although Figure 27 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 2733 includes multiple BB processors 2734 and multiple RF circuits 2735, the wireless communication interface 2733 may also include a single BB processor 2734 or a single RF circuit 2735.

[0398] In addition, in addition to the cellular communication scheme, the wireless communication interface 2733 can support other types of wireless communication schemes, such as short-range wireless communication schemes, near field communication schemes, and wireless LAN schemes. In this case, for each wireless communication scheme, the wireless communication interface 2733 can include a BB processor 2734 and an RF circuit 2735.

[0399] Each of the antenna switches 2736 switches the connection destination of the antenna 2737 between a plurality of circuits included in the wireless communication interface 2733 , such as circuits for different wireless communication schemes.

[0400] Each of the antennas 2737 includes a single or multiple antenna elements (such as multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and is used for transmitting and receiving wireless signals via the wireless communication interface 2733. As shown in FIG27 , the car navigation device 2720 may include multiple antennas 2737. Although FIG27 shows an example in which the car navigation device 2720 includes multiple antennas 2737, the car navigation device 2720 may also include a single antenna 2737.

[0401] In addition, the car navigation device 2720 may include an antenna 2737 for each wireless communication scheme. In this case, the antenna switch 2736 may be omitted from the configuration of the car navigation device 2720.

[0402] The battery 2738 supplies power to the respective blocks of the car navigation device 2720 shown in Fig. 27 via a feeder line, which is partially shown as a dotted line in the figure. The battery 2738 accumulates the power supplied from the vehicle.

[0403] The technology of the present disclosure can also be implemented as an in-vehicle system (or vehicle) 2740 including a car navigation device 2720, an in-vehicle network 2741, and one or more blocks in a vehicle module 2742. The vehicle module 2742 generates vehicle data (such as vehicle speed, engine speed, and fault information) and outputs the generated data to the in-vehicle network 2741.

[0404] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present disclosure is certainly not limited to the above examples. Those skilled in the art may obtain various changes and modifications within the scope of the appended claims, and it should be understood that these changes and modifications will naturally fall within the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0405] For example, a plurality of functions included in one unit in the above embodiments may be implemented by separate devices. Alternatively, a plurality of functions implemented by a plurality of units in the above embodiments may be implemented by separate devices, respectively. In addition, one of the above functions may be implemented by a plurality of units. Needless to say, such a configuration is included in the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0406] In this specification, the steps described in the flowchart include not only processing executed in time series in the order described, but also processing executed in parallel or individually rather than necessarily in time series. In addition, even in the steps processed in time series, it goes without saying that the order can be changed as appropriate.

[0407] Although the present disclosure and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and transformations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variations thereof in the embodiments of the present disclosure are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, such that a process, method, article, or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article, or device. In the absence of further limitations, an element defined by the statement "comprising a ..." does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or device comprising the element.

Claims

1. An electronic device for a first base station in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a user equipment capable of communicating with the first base station, a second base station, a network function and a satellite, the electronic device comprising a processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to cause the first base station to perform the following operations: Determining, based on a message received from a network function, to initiate a first handover of the user equipment to a second base station at a first time; Sending a handover request message to the second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated type; as well as In response to receiving a message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request, a handover command is sent to the user equipment, wherein the handover command instructs the user equipment to perform a first handover and indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated type.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the first base station to perform the following operations: receiving a measurement report from a user equipment, wherein the measurement report indicates that at least one of a signal quality between the user equipment and the first base station and a signal quality between the user equipment and the second base station does not satisfy a predefined condition; Sending a message instructing to stop the first switching to the second base station; A message is sent to the user equipment indicating that the first handover is stopped and the handover type is changed to a user equipment initiated type.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the first base station to perform the following operations: After the first handover is completed, the handover data of the first handover is sent to the network function.

4. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the first base station to perform the following operations: In response to receiving the message indicating that the second base station rejects the handover request, a message indicating that the handover type is changed to a user equipment initiated type is sent to the user equipment.

5. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein sending a handover request message to the second base station comprises: directly send a handover request message to the second base station, or A handover requirement is sent to a network function, wherein a type of the handover requirement is configured as a base station initiated type, and wherein the handover request message is sent by the network function to the second base station in response to receiving the handover requirement. 6 . The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request is a confirmation message for the handover request received from the second base station or a handover command received from a network function.

7. An electronic device according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the message received from the network function includes switching model parameters, wherein the switching model parameters include at least an identifier of the user equipment, a set of switching times including the first time, an identifier of the first base station, and an identifier of the second base station.

8. The electronic device according to claim 7, wherein the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed location type, and the processing circuit is further configured to enable the first base station to perform the following operations: Before the first handover, receiving a message from a network function instructing the first base station to collect handover data of a set of user equipments of a fixed location type including the user equipment; Performing a first plurality of user equipment initiated handovers with user equipment in a set of user equipments of a fixed location type; sending handover data for the first plurality of handovers to a network function, wherein the first plurality of handovers occur before the first handover, The handover model parameters are obtained by the network function based on the handover data of the first plurality of handovers.

9. The electronic device according to claim 7, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the first base station to perform the following operations: performing, with the user equipment, a second plurality of user equipment initiated handovers after receiving the handover model parameter from the network function; sending handover data for the second plurality of handovers to the network function, wherein the second plurality of handovers occur before the first handover; A message is received from a network function indicating that a base station initiated handover can be started, wherein determining to initiate a first handover of the user equipment to a second base station at a first time is performed in response to at least receiving the message indicating that a base station initiated handover can be started.

10. An electronic device according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the switching data includes one or more of the following: an identifier of a user equipment associated with the switching, a time for initiating the switching determined by a source base station associated with the switching, a signal quality between the user equipment and the source base station reported by the user equipment based on which the source base station decides to initiate the switching and a signal quality between the user equipment and the target base station associated with the switching, an identifier of the source base station, an identifier of the target base station, an identifier of a satellite associated with the source base station, an identifier of a satellite associated with the target base station, and weather conditions.

11. The electronic device according to claim 8, wherein the switching model parameter is obtained by the network function through the following operations: Training a machine learning model using the switching data of the first plurality of switchings as training data; and The switching model parameters are generated by inputting an identifier of the user equipment into a trained machine learning model.

12. An electronic device for a base station in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a user device capable of communicating with the base station, a network function and a satellite, the electronic device comprising a processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to cause the base station to perform the following operations: receiving a registration request message from a user equipment, wherein the registration request message comprises a location type bit, and the location type bit indicates whether the user equipment is a fixed-location type user equipment or a mobile-location type user equipment; Sending the registration request message to the network function; as well as Based on an acknowledgement of the registration request message received from the network function, a registration acceptance message is sent to the user equipment, wherein in response to the location type bit indicating that the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed location type, the registration acceptance message includes information indicating that the handover type of the user equipment is configured as a base station initiated type. 13 . The electronic device according to claim 12 , wherein when the location type bit indicates that the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed location type, the registration request message further includes a field indicating geographic location information of the user equipment.

14. An electronic device for a user equipment in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a first base station capable of communicating with the user equipment, a second base station capable of communicating with the first base station, a network function, and a satellite, the electronic device comprising a processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to cause the user equipment to perform the following operations: receiving a handover command from the first base station, wherein the handover command instructs the user equipment to perform a first handover to the second base station, and indicates that a handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated type; Performing a signal quality measurement with the first base station and a signal quality measurement with the second base station within a predetermined time period; In response to determining that a signal quality between the user equipment and the first base station and a signal quality between the user equipment and the second base station satisfy a predefined condition within a predetermined time period, a first handover is performed.

15. The electronic device according to claim 14, wherein: The first base station determines to initiate a first handover at a first time based on a message received from the network function; The first base station sends a handover request message to the second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated type; as well as The handover command is sent by the first base station to the user equipment in response to receiving a message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request.

16. The electronic device according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the user equipment to perform the following operations: In response to determining that at least one of a signal quality between the user equipment and the first base station and a signal quality between the user equipment and the second base station does not satisfy a predefined condition within a predetermined time period: Sending a measurement report to the first base station; receiving, from the first base station, a message indicating that the first handover is stopped and the handover type is changed to a user equipment initiated type; as well as Signal quality measurements are performed with the first base station and signal quality measurements are performed with one or more base stations including the second base station.

17. The electronic device according to claim 15, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the user device to perform the following operations: A message indicating that the handover type is changed to a user equipment initiated type is received from the first base station, the message being sent by the first base station to the user equipment in response to receiving a message indicating that the second base station rejects the handover request.

18. The electronic device according to claim 15, wherein the first base station sending a handover request message to the second base station comprises: The first base station directly sends a handover request message to the second base station, or The first base station sends a handover requirement to the network function, wherein the type of the handover requirement is configured as a base station initiated type, and wherein the handover request message is sent by the network function to the second base station in response to receiving the handover requirement.

19. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request is a confirmation message for the handover request received by the first base station from the second base station or a handover command received by the first base station from a network function.

20. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the message received by the first base station from the network function comprises a switching model parameter, wherein the switching model parameter comprises at least an identifier of the user equipment, a set of switching times including the first time, an identifier of the first base station, and an identifier of the second base station.

21. The electronic device according to claim 20, wherein the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed location type, and wherein: Before the first handover, the first base station receives a message from a network function instructing the first base station to collect handover data of a set of user equipments of a fixed-location type including the user equipment; The first base station performs a first plurality of user equipment initiated handovers with user equipment in a set of user equipments of a fixed location type; The first base station sends handover data for the first plurality of handovers to a network function, wherein the first plurality of handovers occur before the first handover; and The handover model parameters are obtained by the network function based on the handover data of the first plurality of handovers.

22. The electronic device according to claim 20, wherein: The first base station performs, with the user equipment, a second plurality of user equipment initiated handovers after receiving the handover model parameter from the network function; The first base station sends handover data for the second plurality of handovers to the network function, wherein the second plurality of handovers occur before the first handover; The first base station receives a message from a network function indicating that a base station initiated handover can be started, wherein determining to initiate a first handover of the user equipment to a second base station at a first time is performed at least in response to receiving the message indicating that a base station initiated handover can be started.

23. An electronic device according to claim 21 or 22, wherein the switching data includes one or more of the following: an identifier of a user equipment associated with the switching, a time for initiating the switching determined by a source base station associated with the switching, a signal quality between the user equipment and the source base station reported by the user equipment based on which the source base station decides to initiate the switching and a signal quality between the user equipment and the target base station associated with the switching, an identifier of the source base station, an identifier of the target base station, an identifier of a satellite associated with the source base station, an identifier of a satellite associated with the target base station, and weather conditions.

24. The electronic device according to claim 21, wherein the switching model parameter is obtained by the network function through the following operations: Training a machine learning model using the switching data of the first plurality of switchings as training data; and The switching model parameters are generated by inputting an identifier of the user equipment into a trained machine learning model.

25. An electronic device for a user equipment in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a base station, a network function and a satellite capable of communicating with the user equipment, the electronic device comprising a processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to cause the user equipment to perform the following operations: Sending a registration request message to a base station, wherein the registration request message includes a location type bit, and the location type bit indicates whether the user equipment is a fixed-location type user equipment or a mobile-location type user equipment; and A registration acceptance message is received from the base station, wherein in response to the location type bit indicating that the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed location type, the registration acceptance message includes information indicating that the handover type of the user equipment is configured as a base station initiated type.

26. The electronic device according to claim 25, wherein when the location type bit indicates that the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed location type, the registration request message further includes a field indicating geographic location information of the user equipment.

27. An electronic device for a network function in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a user device capable of communicating with the network function, a first base station, a second base station, and a satellite, the electronic device comprising a processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to cause the network function to perform the following operations: sending a message to the first base station, wherein the message includes an instruction to initiate a first handover of the user equipment to the second base station at a first time, The first base station sends a handover request message to the second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated type, and In response to receiving a message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request, the first base station sends a handover command to the user equipment, wherein the handover command instructs the user equipment to perform a first handover and indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated type.

28. The electronic device of claim 27, wherein: The first base station receives a measurement report from the user equipment, wherein the measurement report indicates that at least one of a signal quality between the user equipment and the first base station and a signal quality between the user equipment and the second base station does not satisfy a predefined condition; The first base station sends a message to the second base station instructing to stop the first switching; as well as The first base station sends a message to the user equipment instructing to stop the first handover and change the handover type to a user equipment initiated type.

29. An electronic device according to claim 27, wherein the message sent to the first base station includes switching model parameters, wherein the switching model parameters include at least an identifier of the user equipment, a switching time set including the first time, an identifier of the first base station, and an identifier of the second base station.

30. The electronic device of claim 29, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the network function to perform the following operations: receiving handover data for a first handover from a first base station; and New handover model parameters are generated based on at least the handover data of the first handover.

31. The electronic device according to any one of claims 27 to 29, wherein: In response to receiving the message indicating that the second base station rejects the handover request, the first base station sends a message to the user equipment indicating that the handover type is changed to a user equipment initiated type.

32. The electronic device according to any one of claims 27 to 30, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the network function to perform the following operations: receiving a handover request from the first base station, wherein the type of the handover request is configured as a base station initiated type; and The handover request message is sent to the second base station.

33. The electronic device of claim 32, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the network function to perform the following operations: receiving a confirmation message for the handover request from the second base station; and The switching command is sent to the first base station.

34. The electronic device according to claim 29, wherein the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed location type, and the processing circuit is further configured to cause the network function to perform the following operations: Before the first handover, sending a message to the first base station instructing the first base station to collect handover data of a set of user equipments of a fixed location type including the user equipment; receiving handover data of a first plurality of handovers of a user equipment initiated type from a first base station, wherein the first plurality of handovers are performed by the first base station with user equipments in a set of user equipments of a fixed location type and occur before the first handover; as well as The handover model parameters are obtained based on the handover data of the first plurality of handovers.

35. The electronic device of claim 29, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the network function to perform the following operations: After sending the handover model parameter to the first base station, receiving handover data of a second plurality of handovers of user equipment initiated type from the first base station, wherein the second plurality of handovers occur before the first handover; comparing the handoff data of the second plurality of handoffs to the handoff model parameters; as well as In response to determining that a proportion of the second plurality of handovers for which the handover data matches the handover model parameter exceeds threshold, sending a message to the first base station indicating that the base station initiated handover can be started, wherein the first base station sending the handover request message to the second base station is performed at least in response to receiving the message indicating that the base station initiated handover can be started.

36. An electronic device according to claim 34 or 35, wherein the switching data includes one or more of the following: an identifier of a user equipment associated with the switching, a time for initiating the switching determined by a source base station associated with the switching, a signal quality between the user equipment and the source base station reported by the user equipment based on which the source base station decides to initiate the switching and a signal quality between the user equipment and the target base station associated with the switching, an identifier of the source base station, an identifier of the target base station, an identifier of a satellite associated with the source base station, an identifier of a satellite associated with the target base station, and weather conditions.

37. The electronic device of claim 34, wherein in order to obtain the handover model parameter, the processing circuit is further configured to cause the network function to perform the following operations: Training a machine learning model using the switching data of the first plurality of switchings as training data; and The switching model parameters are generated by inputting an identifier of the user equipment into a trained machine learning model.

38. An electronic device for a network function in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a user device capable of communicating with the base station, a base station and a satellite, the electronic device comprising a processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to cause the network function to perform the following operations: receiving a registration request message of a user equipment from a base station, wherein the registration request message comprises a location type bit, and the location type bit indicates whether the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed location type or a user equipment of a mobile location type; Registering the user equipment based on the registration request message; as well as Sending a confirmation of the registration request message to the base station, wherein in response to the location type bit indicating that the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed-location type, the base station sends a registration acceptance message to the user equipment, and the registration acceptance message includes information indicating that the switching type of the user equipment is configured as a base station-initiated type.

39. An electronic device according to claim 38, wherein when the location type bit indicates that the user device is a user device of a fixed-location type, the registration request message also includes a field indicating the geographic location information of the user device, and registering the user device based on the registration request message also includes registering the geographic location information of the user device.

40. An electronic device for a second base station in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a user equipment capable of communicating with the second base station, a first base station, a network function, and a satellite, the electronic device comprising a processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to cause the second base station to perform the following operations: Receiving a handover request message from the first base station for a first handover of the user equipment to the second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated type and the first handover is determined by the first base station to be initiated at a first time based on a message received from a network function; and In response to determining that the resources meet the first handover requirement, a message is sent to the first base station indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request.

41. The electronic device of claim 40, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the second base station to perform the following operations: receiving a message from the first base station instructing to stop the first handover; and The resources prepared for the first handover are released.

42. The electronic device according to claim 40, The first base station sends a handover command to the user equipment in response to receiving a message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request, wherein the handover command instructs the user equipment to perform a first handover and indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated type.

43. The electronic device of claim 40, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the second base station to perform the following operations: In response to determining that the resources do not meet the first handover requirement, sending a message to the first base station indicating that the second base station rejects the handover request, The first base station, in response to receiving the message indicating that the second base station rejects the handover request, sends a message to the user equipment indicating that the handover type is changed to a user equipment initiated type.

44. The electronic device according to any one of claims 40 to 42, wherein receiving the handover request message from the first base station comprises: directly receiving a handover request message from the first base station, or A handover request message is received from a network function, wherein the handover request message is sent by the network function to the second base station in response to receiving a handover requirement sent by the first base station.

45. The electronic device according to any one of claims 40 to 42, wherein sending a message to the first base station indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request comprises: directly sending a confirmation message for the handover request to the first base station, or An acknowledgement message for the handover request is sent to the network function, wherein the network function sends a handover command to the first base station in response to receiving the acknowledgement message for the handover request from the second base station.

46. ​​An electronic device according to any one of claims 40-42, wherein the message received by the first base station from the network function includes switching model parameters, wherein the switching model parameters include at least an identifier of the user equipment, a switching time set including a first time, an identifier of the first base station, and an identifier of the second base station.

47. The electronic device according to claim 46, wherein the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed location type, and wherein: Before the first handover, the first base station receives a message from a network function instructing the first base station to collect handover data of a set of user equipments of a fixed location type including the user equipment; The first base station performs a first plurality of user equipment initiated handovers with user equipment in a set of user equipments of a fixed location type; the first base station sends handover data for the first plurality of handovers to the network function, wherein the first plurality of handovers occur before the first handover, The handover model parameters are obtained by the network function based on the handover data of the first plurality of handovers.

48. The electronic device of claim 46, wherein: After receiving the handover model parameter from the network function, the first base station performs a second plurality of handovers of user equipment initiated type with the user equipment; the first base station sending handover data of the second plurality of handovers to the network function, wherein the second plurality of handovers occur before the first handover; The first base station receives a message from a network function indicating that a base station initiated handover can be started, wherein the first base station determines The first handover is initiated at a first time in response to at least receiving a message indicating that a base station initiated handover can be started.

49. An electronic device according to claim 47 or 48, wherein the switching data includes one or more of the following: an identifier of a user device associated with the switching, a time for initiating the switching determined by a source base station associated with the switching, a signal quality between the user device and the source base station reported by the user device based on which the source base station decides to initiate the switching and a signal quality between the user device and the target base station associated with the switching, an identifier of the source base station, an identifier of the target base station, an identifier of a satellite associated with the source base station, an identifier of a satellite associated with the target base station, and weather conditions.

50. The electronic device according to claim 47, wherein the switching model parameter is obtained by the network function through the following operations: Training a machine learning model using the switching data of the first plurality of switchings as training data; and The switching model parameters are generated by inputting an identifier of the user equipment into a trained machine learning model.

51. A method for a first base station in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a user equipment capable of communicating with the first base station, a second base station, a network function, and a satellite, the method comprising: Determining, based on a message received from a network function, to initiate a first handover of the user equipment to a second base station at a first time; Sending a handover request message to the second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated type; as well as In response to receiving a message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request, a handover command is sent to the user equipment, wherein the handover command instructs the user equipment to perform a first handover and indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated type.

52. A method for a base station in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising user equipment capable of communicating with the base station, a network function and a satellite, the method comprising: receiving a registration request message from a user equipment, wherein the registration request message comprises a location type bit, and the location type bit indicates whether the user equipment is a fixed-location type user equipment or a mobile-location type user equipment; Sending the registration request message to the network function; as well as Based on an acknowledgement of the registration request message received from the network function, a registration acceptance message is sent to the user equipment, wherein in response to the location type bit indicating that the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed location type, the registration acceptance message includes information indicating that the handover type of the user equipment is configured as a base station initiated type.

53. A method for a user equipment in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a first base station capable of communicating with the user equipment, a second base station capable of communicating with the first base station, a network function, and a satellite, the method comprising: receiving a handover command from the first base station, wherein the handover command instructs the user equipment to perform a first handover to the second base station, and indicates that a handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated type; Performing a signal quality measurement with the first base station and a signal quality measurement with the second base station within a predetermined time period; In response to determining that a signal quality between the user equipment and the first base station and a signal quality between the user equipment and the second base station satisfy a predefined condition within a predetermined time period, a first handover is performed.

54. A method for a user equipment in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a base station, a network function and a satellite capable of communicating with the user equipment, the method comprising: Sending a registration request message to a base station, wherein the registration request message includes a location type bit, and the location type bit indicates whether the user equipment is a fixed-location type user equipment or a mobile-location type user equipment; as well as A registration acceptance message is received from the base station, wherein in response to the location type bit indicating that the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed location type, the registration acceptance message includes information indicating that the handover type of the user equipment is configured as a base station initiated type.

55. A method for a network function in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a user equipment capable of communicating with the network function, a first base station, a second base station, and a satellite, the method comprising: sending a message to the first base station, wherein the message includes an instruction to initiate a first handover of the user equipment to the second base station at a first time, The first base station sends a handover request message to the second base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated type, and In response to receiving a message indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request, the first base station sends a handover command to the user equipment, wherein the handover command instructs the user equipment to perform a first handover and indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated type.

56. A method for a network function in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a user equipment capable of communicating with the base station, a base station and a satellite, the method comprising: receiving a registration request message of a user equipment from a base station, wherein the registration request message comprises a location type bit, and the location type bit indicates whether the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed location type or a user equipment of a mobile location type; Registering the user equipment based on the registration request message; as well as Sending a confirmation of the registration request message to the base station, wherein in response to the location type bit indicating that the user equipment is a user equipment of a fixed-location type, the base station sends a registration acceptance message to the user equipment, and the registration acceptance message includes information indicating that the switching type of the user equipment is configured as a base station-initiated type.

57. A method for a second base station in a non-terrestrial network, the non-terrestrial network further comprising a user equipment capable of communicating with the second base station, a first base station, a network function, and a satellite, the method comprising: receiving a handover request message for a first handover of the user equipment to the second base station from the first base station, wherein the handover request message indicates that the handover type of the first handover is a base station initiated type and the first handover is determined by the first base station to be initiated at a first time based on a message received from a network function; as well as In response to determining that the resources meet the first handover requirement, a message is sent to the first base station indicating that the second base station accepts the handover request.

58. A computer-readable storage medium having one or more instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the method of any one of claims 51-57.

59. A computer program product comprising program instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 51-57.

Images